


Toon Force: The Dark Knight Returns: Part 1

by PerkyGoth14



Category: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (2012-2013), Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:02:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 35,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24157072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerkyGoth14/pseuds/PerkyGoth14
Summary: In the distant future of The Justiceverse, Cherry, Lionel, and Thor now have a family together and they begin to miss the good old days in Gotham City with Bruce Wayne AKA Batman. Eventually, they get back on track, especially when young Terry McGinnis celebrates his 16th birthday and he learns more about his family background. Meanwhile, Felicity struggles to make new friends.
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the future of The Justiceverse.

A lot had changed over the years for our group of adventurers. Atticus stayed in the Mortal Realm while his long-lost birth parents decided to stay in the Magic Realm, but luckily, a safer part of it than where they were before as he stayed with his longtime girlfriend, Monique or Mo for short, especially since he popped a certain question of marriage to her which she happily accepted. Sabrina Spellman was no longer in contact with the others, but Drell reassured them all that she would be happier and safer now in her new home with her new family as he retired from being in charge of the Witch's Council and decided to settle down and at least attempt to live a normal life with his new wife, Sabrina's aunt, Hilda, though he kept an eye on the group every so often. Especially since his nephew decided to live with his two true loves and yes, we said two true loves. A moving van was shown in a special residence as a young adult woman arranged a photograph of herself in a blonde wig in a blue dress with a bigger boy with brown hair in a red and white outfit and a smaller guy who had red/brown hair with colorful clothes with a golden trophy with 1st on it.

"Cherry, you're still not showing around that old costume party picture, are you?" Thor smirked playfully.

"Why not?" Cherry smirked back. "We won a costume contest. You know how much I love Halloween."

"Yeah, how could we forget?" Lionel smiled as he popped in. "Not to mention that it happens to be close to your birthday. THAT... Is an added bonus."

"Tell me about it." Cherry remarked.

"I think we're all about moved in." Thor said as he looked around the furniture.

"Awesome," Lionel noted. "Now we can kick back, relax, and raise our family!"

"I'll make us some comfort food to celebrate." Thor beamed.

"Guess I'll look for a movie or a show for us to watch." Cherry suggested as she picked up the remote to turn on their TV in the family room which had a pretty big TV with a big couch for all of them to fit with recliners on the ends of the couch.

"Sounds good to me!" Lionel replied as he poofed over to sit next to Cherry.

Cherry flipped through the channels until she would find something decent to watch which seemed to be difficult at times in modern times with how television had gotten lately.

"Okay... So what's on the boob tube?" Lionel asked. "Gimme the rundown."

"Let's see..." Cherry shrugged. "A lot of sitcoms tonight... News... Reboots of beloved cartoons from our childhoods..."

"Lucky for us, we have DVDs," Lionel replied, taking out several DVD cases. "And since the kids are asleep, we can watch as many as we like!"

"Yeah, the move was a lot for them," Cherry said. "How 'bout it, Thor? You want a movie marathon?"

"I say we go for it!" Thor replied from the kitchen before he tasted a substance he made for them. "Mm... Needs more honey."

"The I's have it, then." Lionel smiled. "Movie time~!"

"I'll be there in a minute, I'm almost done with the sandwiches." Thor told them.

"Thor and his sandwiches." Cherry playfully rolled her eyes.

Lionel fished through the stack of DVDs, until he pulled one out. " _'Darkwing Duck: The New Adventures'_?" he read the title, curious. "A chance to experience even _more_ of St. Canard's greatest hero's escapades?! I'll take it!"

"Sounds good to me," Cherry replied. "Might as well see what the ol' Darkwing Duck is up to."

"Episode 1: 'The Duck Knight Returns'... Talk about ominous!" Lionel remarked as he put in the DVD.

"Speaking of which..." Thor said. "How's Bruce?"

"Seems to be mostly quiet," Cherry said as she took out a pillow to get comfortable. "Feels weird though... Some kids think that Batman is a myth nowadays, especially after I, uh, had Lady Gothika retire."

"Wow..." Lionel replied. "I guess I like to try and keep the legend alive through songs and story... Like in this one I did for some youngsters this morning. Perhaps you'd like to hear it?"

Cherry shrugged. "Meh, okay."

"Food's in the oven," Thor said as he came by. "It might take a while, so we might as well hear a story."

"Solid," Lionel smiled as he took out a guitar. And began to play it. "There was a man from Gotham in the Batmobile he rode, Defending the defenseless, it's to him I sing this ode~" he sang. "With his Hammers of Justice, he struck down every foe! Safety for our families, it's this to him we owe~ Grey and blue~! Grey and blue~! The man from Gotham... Wore the grey and blue!"

Though Cherry wasn't a fan of country music, she seemed to really like the song so far. Thor did as well as he bobbed his head to the beat, swaying himself slightly.

"He fought the vilest villains, too numerous to list~" continued Lionel. "Rendering his verdict, with Batwing covered fists!; Descending from the night sky, his scalloped cape would flow; those who broke the law, deserved the punches he would throw!~ Grey and blue~! Grey and blue~! The man from Gotham... Wore the grey and blue!"

"The gray and blue.." Cherry replied.

"The gray and blue!~" Thor beamed as he chorused with the song a little.

"The man from Gotham wore the gray and blue~," Lionel sang to them. "But beneath the mask was just a man, same as you and me, His true face he could never share, a secret identity, But why endure this lone crusade, fight a fight you just can't win? If asked the Bat would tell you; 'Someone's gotta stand up to all this sin'~..."

"Gray and blue, gray and blue!~" Thor and Cherry chorused.

"I said the man from Gotham wore the Grey and Blue, grey and bluue, grey and blue~; the man from Gotham, wore the grey and blue~" sang Lionel. "The Man from Gotham wore the Grey and Blue~ ...Yeah!"

"Hyah!" Thor yelled out as he cracked a random whip Jake Blues style, though luckily, he didn't hurt the others.

"Careful with that thing, man!" Cherry warned.

"Sorry." Thor said sheepishly.

Lionel took a bow. "Thanks... The kids at the orphanage loved it, too. Say it gives 'em hope for a brighter tomorrow." he replied.

"Well, that was sweet of you." Cherry said before she gave him a pet of the head.

"Yeah, it sure is amazing," Thor added. "Keeps the legend of The Dark Knight alive."

"I do what I can," Lionel replied as he put the guitar back into hammerspace. "And now... Cartoons."

"All right, and food should be ready after a couple of episodes." Thor said as he clapped excitedly like a seal with a ball.

"You always know just what to say." Lionel smiled as he scratched Thor behind the ears.

Thor beamed at that made his left foot thump up and down.

"Well, Gosalyn definitely looks more mature," Cherry said from the TV. "Now Drake Mallard has to worry about crimefighting, evil-doers, and puberty from a teenage girl."

"Not to mention Taurus Bulba is back and tougher than _ever_!" Lionel added. "Plus... Morgana appears to have a bun in the oven."

"Taurus Bulba... I swear, he was the darkest villain from the original show." Cherry remarked.

"Yep. Being played by Tim Curry in a Russian accent also helped." Lionel replied.

"This should be good..." Thor said as he rubbed his hands together, though that accidentally made the power go out.

Cherry and Lionel looked jaw-dropped before giving him a look.

"Sorry... Excited..." Thor said before he used his magic to put the power back on since his storm power was activated from his vigorous hand rubbing. "I forgot that I could do that."

"Funny," replied Lionel. "You kinda remind me of Launchpad... Sorta like how Morgana Macawber reminds me of Cherry!"

"I could be like Launchpad?" Thor beamed.

"Well, I could see myself as Morgana." Cherry had to admit.

"Yeah," replied Lionel. "You're a clumsy but well-meaning partner, but your heart is always in the right place."

Thor beamed a bit from that as it seemed to make his day.

"Well, you made his day." Cherry chuckled.

"He always finds a way to make mine, both in _and_ out of the kitchen." Lionel replied.

Thor chuckled a bit from that. "So, uh, Lady Gothika and Bat-Mite aren't bored of retirement, are they?" he then asked.

"Eh, maybe a little bit," Cherry replied with a small shrug. "Having a normal life is kinda boring sometimes, but it's good to kick back while I can without being texted or called away from something else I might be doing."

"Agreed," Lionel replied. "But I just hate the thought of this city's crime going unpunished. And being normal stinks on ice! I can't be normal! It's just not who I am!"

"Try being a teenage magical being..." Thor said as he looked at his hands. "It was tough for Sabrina... That's why she left... Keeping that secret away from non-magical creatures, or else they, such as mortals, would be turned into stone."

"Also, being normal is totally boring," Cherry remarked. "I'm sure something interesting will come up."

"I sure hope so," replied Lionel. "Especially with Bruce's... Even bigger secret."

"It's Bruce's Secret Life~" Thor sang to himself.

"...What?" Cherry asked.

"I dunno," Thor shrugged bashfully. "Just trying to sound cool, I guess."

"You know... Terry," Lionel replied. "It's his 16th birthday, and he still doesn't know about his real parents."

"Oh... Ohh..." Thor said with wide eyes. "Jeez, sorry about that, Lionel, I forgot."

"It's okay," Cherry told him. "But we'll have to fix that, won't we?"

"True," Lionel replied. "He needs to find out sometime."

"So, you're just gonna tell him?" Thor asked.

"Heh, well, maybe not just jump out and tell him like a surprise party," Cherry replied. "Just take it slowly and gently. No doubt it'll be a chore though to get through the info dump though."

"Indeed it will," agreed Lionel. "I have a feeling the odds might play into our favor sooner than expected."

"Very true, very true indeed." Thor approved.

* * *

They soon settled down to watch a couple of episodes of the show before Thor came to get their dinner ready once it was good to come out of the oven.

"Seems a bit darker than the old show, but nothing too gritty..." Cherry said from the show. "It reminds me a little of the old days though."

"Same..." Lionel nodded. "It's just the right balance!"

"Like how _Boston Legal_ mixes drama and comedy." Cherry remarked.

"Denny Crane." Thor smirked which made Cherry snicker a bit.

"...Yes?" Lionel nodded.

"Oh, sorry," Cherry said. "I'll show you on Amazon Prime Video later."

Lionel nodded with a smile. They soon ate their meal which was mostly chicken. Cherry took out her phone to see a Facebook update before rolling her eyes.

"No technology at the table," Thor reminded. "Don't make me zap it out of your hands."

"Over my dead body," Cherry retorted. "Anyway, there's a small update from Atticus and Mo."

"What's it say?" Lionel asked.

"Looking for invites for their future wedding." Cherry said as she showed the boys on her phone.

"Oh... Well, we can at least R.S.V.P. ahead of time!" Lionel smiled. "Don't those two have kids? I kinda thought they were married already."

"Yeeeahh..." Thor smirked a bit. "Cherry, isn't that a memory?"

Cherry took a look. "Oh, wait... It _is_ a memory... This is an invitation to an anniversary celebration..." she then said as she felt a bit bashful.

"Huh... Alright," replied Lionel. "Let's hope it's after Bruce's hiring of a new intern. That's tomorrow."

"It should be," Cherry said. "I'll inbox real quick."

"Ask him if he likes the toaster!" Thor leaned in suddenly.

"Gaugh!" Cherry yelped as she punched him as that startled her. "Don't do that!"

"Sorry." Thor said, unfazed by the punch.

"New intern... Kinda reminds me of the old days," Lionel smiled. "That's how we met Barbara... Or at least, how I remember meeting her."

"Those were the days indeed," Cherry replied. "Feels like a lifetime ago, yet I still remember most of it."

"Your memory was always pretty powerful." Thor said to her.

"Just don't ask me to solve a quadratic equation or I'll kick your teeth in." Cherry mumbled darkly.

"Hey, no worries," Lionel replied. "I hate those things too!"

"Who doesn't?" Thor asked.

"A big nerd like Atticus." Cherry said dryly.

They all shared a good laugh from that, though not too loud of course since the kids were asleep.

"Still though, we should be good to handle things for the try-outs," said Lionel. "At least until Bruce gets out of the hospital."

"Oh, yeah, fo sho..." Thor said as he felt glad to help out. "I'll make snacks and clean up everything."

"You sure you're not just gay and not bi?" Cherry smirked playfully.

"Honey, I recall you not being able to walk right for a week a couple of months ago after I took over most of the work that night." Thor smirked.

"Maybe I was pretending." Cherry smirked back.

Lionel chuckled. "Good on you, buddy. Way to tag in."

"I could do it extra harder and make it so you can't walk right for six months." Thor smirked at Cherry.

"Hey! No! I got a job!" Cherry told him. "How am I gonna explain why below my waist is numb?"

"You tackled into a brick wall because YOLO?" Thor smirked.

Cherry playfully shoved him back from that.

"Let's not go crazy," Lionel replied. "Remember when Cherry needed a break and I turned you into a girl for the night?"

"That skirt felt so breezy..." Thor smiled thoughtfully. "I don't know why guys can't wear 'em more often if girls can wear shorts."

"People are weird like that," shrugged Lionel. "But I was proven right. You _did_ make a cute girl."

"Heheh... I guess..." Thor smiled bashfully.

Cherry smirked a bit before she took another bite of the chicken.

"You know it's true... Electra." Lionel grinned as they continued with dinner.

"And I know it's true that I love you both," Thor said as he hugged both Cherry and Lionel with a bit of force. "I was almost worried that we would have to pick between each other... Especially after my first kiss with Cherry didn't go so well."

"Probably because I didn't want it at that time," Cherry said. "There was a lot going on then."

"Oh, yeah," Lionel agreed. "At least you guys managed to handle that situation."

"Fair point... Unrelated as it may be," Lionel replied. "Though we'd best get some shut-eye. We want to be wide awake for tomorrow."

"All right, I'll get the dishes tonight," Cherry said. "You boys chat until I get there."

"All right." Thor and Lionel said as they walked off, away from the table.

Cherry let out a small yawn as she washed the dishes for a little while.

"Maybe for your birthday, I'll let Electra come back for a little dance with a pole." Thor smirked at Lionel.

Lionel tugged at his collar as his face went red. "W-Well... I suppose we'll see. I mean, we only have a month until then..." he chuckled. "After all, LJ DOES want a brother..."

"Well, maybe Electra could help with that~..." Thor whispered a bit lustfully as he leaned in to whisper right in his ear.

Steam shot out of Lionel's ears, and his head rocketed into the air before it parachuted back down into his hands. "Man, you're always knowin' how ta get me goin'." he blushed as he reattached his head.

"And people say I'm a dumbo," Thor smirked. "I think I'm pretty smart when it comes to Sex Ed."

"Smarter than me, that's for sure," Lionel replied. "First time, I was really confused since I never learned it in the 5-D, so... It was a very informative experience for me."

"Ohh, yeah... I was pretty curious myself about it..." Thor said. "It was just so immature when I had that class with the other boys and they kept snickering the teacher saying words like that. They also said I'd be a virgin forever... Well... Who's having a date with his left hand now in the shower?" he then smirked a bit.

Lionel snickered. "Probably them." he replied. "Especially that big meathead, Arthur Slugloafe. The noive o' dat jerk!"

Thor shared a laugh with him as they came to bed together. Eventually, Cherry came by sleepily to crawl into bed to get some sleep as today was a very long day for all of them.

* * *

Eventually, the night gave way to morning, and the trio got up to get ready for the day. Thor decided to cook up a quick breakfast for the others as he sang along to the radio which played _9 to 5 by Dolly Parton_. Cherry mumbled to herself as she slowly woke up, though she wasn't much of a morning person. Lionel gave her some coffee to perk her up while he went to get everyone's clothes ready for the day.

"You get enough sleep, Cherry?" Thor asked.

"Eh..." Cherry shrugged. "I'm just more of a night owl than a day bird like you."

"That's why we have the coffee..." Lionel replied. "Got your clothes ready."

"Mm... My Grunkle always loved his coffee in the morning even though he would spend all day in bed in front of the TV." Cherry remarked as she took a sip to get her clothes on.

"Breakfast is almost ready." Thor said.

"Most excellent!" Lionel exclaimed as he went to the table and took a seat.

"All our favorites," Thor smiled as he was about to plate up the food. "Hopefully this helps us wake up a bit more too."

"Well, I guess it could work." shrugged Cherry as she sat down as well.

Thor plated up the food for all of them and they began to eat up.

"Hopefully the kids won't mind." Cherry said as she tucked into her food.

Just then, they heard a yawn.

"...Probably not," said Lionel. "I'll get them to school quickly, then zap to your location."

"Sounds alright to me," Cherry replied. "Great breakfast though."

"I thought you'd like it." Thor beamed.

"Your cooking is superior!" Lionel praised. "Literally got me licking the plate clean!"

"Thank you, thank you." Thor beamed with a chuckle.

* * *

Eventually, after they ate breakfast, Cherry walked off with Thor to wait for Lionel as he took care of the kids for them.

"Okay, kids, time to go!" Lionel announced to the kids as he gathered them, got them dressed, and herded them into the car.

The kids gathered together to get to the car as they were all set to go. Shortly after, Lionel got them to school and zapped back to Cherry and Thor.


	2. Chapter 2

Cherry sat up front as Thor took the wheel, bopping his hands around though as he sang his little song as he attempted a country singer voice.

"Alright, let's sing a new song now." Cherry suggested.

"Oh, fine." Thor pouted.

"Alright then," Lionel replied as he sat in the backseat. "What's on the radio today?"

"Hmm... I'll put on some oldies..." Thor pondered as he changed the radio station to something more classic. "Everybody was suuurfiiiin'... Across the USA~"

"50's pop... Cool..." Cherry shrugged.

"Nifty!" Lionel replied as the car pulled into the parking garage of Wayne Enterprises.

Thor sang along until the song was done as they came to park.

"I liked last Halloween when he sang Elton John's _Crocodile Rock_." Cherry hid a small smirk.

"That was a good song." Lionel replied as they parked and went inside.

"All right," Thor said as he stretched a bit. "I hope this doesn't take too long for your sake, Cherry."

"I'm sure it won't, besides, I'm a lot more patient these days," Cherry replied. "I'm a mother after all."

"We'll be done quickly," Lionel replied. "Just need a quick transition!"

* * *

As soon as he said that, a clockwise-wipe covered the screen, and by the next shot, Lionel, Thor, and Cherry were sitting at a table, before a pink-haired African-American teenage girl in a yellow hoodie.

"See, what'd I tell you?" asked Lionel. "Alright, who's next?"

"Um, I guess that would be me." The girl spoke up with a bit of a raspy voice.

"Hello, I'm Paula, and this is Randy and Simon." Cherry smirked.

"Simon's kinda cute when he's not cynical." Thor said.

"Focus, Lover Blob," Cherry told him before looking over. "All right, what do they call you?"

"Uh, I'm Max." The girl said softly as she rubbed her arm.

"Okay... Max," Lionel replied. "Why do you think you qualify for the position of intern of Wayne Enterprises?"

"Well, I'm pretty sharp for my age, a straight-A student," Max replied. "I might even become class valedictorian."

"Smart girl, I like that..." Thor said as he wrote that down.

"Yes, I was able to get a perfect score on the standardized GAT test and I usually do computer programming as a hobby." Max continued from that.

"Computer programming?" Lionel asked. "Very interesting."

"My kinda gal." Cherry added as she loved computers.

"I hope you're not suffering from perfectionism though," Thor remarked. "I've heard that does crazy stuff to people, like I once heard about this girl Olga Pataki who had the worst case of it and pretty much drove herself insane."

"I try my best not to go that far," Max replied. "I just hope I could be useful to you guys."

"Well... It's looking pretty good for you so far." Lionel replied.

Max smiled bashfully from that.

"We might hear from you again soon, but just remember... We'll call you..." Cherry told the pink-haired girl.

"That's fair enough." Max replied.

"Results should be in by next week, so keep your phone on." Lionel added.

"Thank you for your time, I just hope I didn't waste yours." Max said to them.

"Oh, trust me, we already met some candidates who did that a while back." Cherry hid a roll of her eyes.

"Aye," Lionel replied. "I suppose we'll see you around. You take care of yourself."

"Thank you again," Max said as she began to walk off. "I guess I'll get going."

"Sure, but first, have a complimentary snack," Thor said as he took out a basket. "I'm a mix of a mom and a dad, so I always have healthy snacks for youths such as yourself."

"Um... Okay... Thanks." Max said as she took a granola bar and decided to leave with it.

"No problem," Lionel replied. "Get home safely. This town's infested with crime!"

"Thank you again." Max said as she walked off then.

Thor waved goodbye with a bit of a happy smile.

"Well, she seemed cool." Cherry spoke up.

"Yeah! I like her!" Lionel replied. "...Well, I think we've done our work for the day here. Let's bail and get some pizzas."

"All right!" Thor beamed from that.

* * *

They then walked off to do just that after a busy time with checking for possible interns.

"Who doesn't love a good pizza?" Thor smiled as he stretched a bit.

"Other than lactose-intolerant people, I don't know!" Lionel replied as they went to the car.

Thor drove them away again as he sang along to _Karma Chameleon_ on the radio.

"I could get high to this song." Cherry smirked as this song always felt chill to her as the kids say these days.

"We have a lot of off days, so we could probably do that sometime." Lionel replied.

"Get high? No, no, no! What would the children think?" Thor cried. "Someone please think of the children!"

"Are you 100% sure you're not just gay and not bi?" Cherry asked. "I mean, serious--"

Thor grabbed her before giving her a deep kiss for a few minutes before he let go with a smirk as he took the wheel. "Is someone still doubting my sexuality?"

Cherry babbled while looking bright pink in the face.

"I didn't think so~" Thor smirked.

Lionel chuckled. "Oh, you rascal," he replied. "We could stop by that drive-thru pizzeria you like so much."

"Sweet!" Thor beamed as he decided to drive him that way.

Cherry could just babble as she seemed quite tongue-tied.

"That's what ya get," Thor teased. "Do it again and I'm tying you to the bed again."

"Hey, she already got to get that," Lionel remarked. "I want a turn!"

Cherry babbled bashfully from that.

"All right," Thor smirked. "I'm in a pretty good mood, so I'll go after you tonight."

"Yippee!" Lionel whooped as they pulled up. "We'll give Cherry some time t'gather her thoughts while we place the orders."

Cherry babbled a bit from that.

"Don't worry, you'll speak normally again after a couple of hours or so," Thor told her. "Uncle taught me that one from his last game night with Aunt Hilda."

Cherry shuddered before plugging her ears as she did _not_ want to think about that.

"Oops... Sorry... Let's get that pizza." Thor smiled sheepishly.

 ** _"Welcome to Cassandra's Pizza,"_ **said the speaker. **"What would you like to order?"**

"I'll have a large chicken-and-triple-cheese," said Lionel. "And... What would you two like?" 

"I'd like some ham and pepperoni." Thor said.

Cherry gave her order which was mostly cheese as she craved some cheese lately.

"Okay... Two ham and pepperonis, and two extra cheeses, with Fanta Orange and Fanta Cherry." Lionel added.

A brief silence followed. **_"...Alright, pull up to the main window, and claim your order."_ **The worker replied.

"Awesome!" Lionel replied.

Thor smiled as he drove that way. Cherry seemed to try to massage her tongue.

"Ah, ah, ah, it doesn't work that way~" Thor chuckled.

Cherry looked slightly aggravated from being unable to talk.

"I got ya," Lionel replied, waving his finger and tapping Cherry on the mouth. "Give it a shot."

Cherry cleared her throat a bit. "A, E, I, O, U... Ah, much better..." she then smirked. "Thor, did you _have_ to make my tongue numb?"

"Yes, because you should know that I'm a beast in bed when I want to be." Thor smirked back.

"Hey, knock it off, you two." Lionel playfully chided them.

Eventually, they came around to the last window, and Lionel gave the money, and they got their order.

"Thanks for stopping at Cassandra's Pizza," said the worker. "And the truth is, we hope you enjoy your meal."

"Oh, we will!" Thor beamed as he took a hold of his pizza box.

"Thanks, Cassandra Pizza person." Cherry chuckled a bit.

And so they drove back to their house to enjoy their lunch.

"This _is_ pretty tasty," Lionel said as he helped himself. "...But not as good as Thor's."

"Aw, shucks..." Thor blushed.

"Yeah... Better than my mama's though..." Cherry chuckled weakly.

Lionel gave a nod. "I hear Commissioner Gordon is gonna retire this month," he mentioned. "So Bruce intends to visit him tonight and go out for drinks."

"Gosh... Feels like the end of an era again," Cherry said. "I never thought too much of Gordon most of the time, but... Still."

"Yeah, I sorta know what ya mean," Thor replied. "I'd go out there, but... I don't like to drink too much alcohol... I think it makes me into a jerk."

"Oh, it does..." Cherry said knowingly. "You're a pretty scary drunk."

"No kidding," Lionel replied. "It's like you turn from Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde! That's why I water down your booze."

"Yeah... First time like that, I never felt so scared..." Cherry said.

"Kinda scared like when you got sassy with Bruce after some puberty hit you with talking back to him and not cleaning your room until he showed you how scary he could get?" Thor smirked.

"...We don't talk about that." Cherry shuddered.

"Fair enough," Lionel replied.

* * *

And so, later that night, Bruce was out with Jim Gordon, soon-to-be-former commissioner of police, having a drink.

"You're not worried about me, are you?" asked Jim.

"No more than I am the rest of the city," said Bruce, putting down his glass. "People have given up, Jim. They're hiding, turning a blind eye."

"These are scary times," replied Jim. "And the Mutants, they're not like the usual street crooks. A mugger, he's after a wallet. It makes sense. With these kids, it's just random violence. There's no humanity in them at all."

Bruce gave a wry glance. "Sounds like someone I used to deal with..." he remarked.

A server soon came by as the two men talked among each other.

"Thank God he's keeping quiet." Bruce mumbled from that as he took a sip of his drink as the server came by for them before she took her leave.

"Remember how you had us all going back then?" Jim remarked. "You with that ginger ale of yours, pretending it was champagne. Made up for lost time on that since."

"Makes it easier."

"Makes what easier?"

"Staying retired." Bruce said after he took a sip.

"Things are different now, Bruce," Jim replied. "The government, the public, they wouldn't stand for you anymore."

It seemed a bit quiet for a while between the two men.

Eventually, Jim broke the silence. "...Talk to Dick lately?" he asked.

Bruce turned to the side. "You know I haven't..." he replied.

"Shame you didn't keep up with him," said Jim. "Could've been a shoulder to lean on, after what happened with Jason."

That was enough to make Bruce get up from his seat. "...Let's call it a night, Jim." he said, as he walked out.

Jim said nothing, merely taking another sip of his booze.

* * *

Bruce walked out to the streets as he decided he had enough for one night until he got a call from an old friend. "Cherry?"

 ** _"Hey, I thought you could use a call,"_** Cherry said on the other line. **"Seems like yesterday I'd visit you occasionally out of school while you'd lunge out at me to test my reflexes."**

"You with your nostalgia, Cherry." Bruce teased.

 ** _"Well, it's true,"_** Cherry smirked as she lay on the couch while talking to him. **_"You were always more like a father to me than my own old man before he drunk himself silly just to tolerate my mom."_**

Bruce gave a small smile. "...I did my best," he said. "And I helped make sure you grew into a reliable, strong-willed young woman along the way... With some help."

 ** _"Aunt Selina,"_** Cherry smirked. **_"So... Tonight is Terry's birthday."_**

Bruce looked down. "...I know," he replied. "He's 16 today, right?"

 ** _"Yeah,"_** Cherry said. **_"So, whatya think? You gonna do somethin' about it?"_**

Bruce was silent for a few seconds. "...I'll do my best," he replied. "I just don't want him to end up like Jason did."

Cherry sighed. **_"...Hey, from what the tykes have told us, Terry is a good kid,"_ **she replied. **_"Sure, he gets into a few scrapes here and there, but what kid doesn't?"_**

"I suppose that's true," Bruce said to her. "Do you like being a mom?"

* * *

"Ah, the kids practically raise themselves." Cherry shrugged as she shut a door as the kids seemed to chase each other in the background.

* * *

Bruce chuckled a bit at that as he soon found he'd walked into an alley. Below him was a discarded newspaper. **FAMILY MURDERED, MUTANTS SUSPECTED,** the headline blared. Something about the picture seemed to dredge up bad memories of Bruce's past. "...I'll call you back." he told Cherry before hanging up.

Out of the shadows stepped a punk with a mohawk and a red visor: a member of the Mutant gang. Bruce glanced behind himself, seeing the punk. And on his own left was another punk with a spiky mohawk.

"Aces. He sees us," said the punk. "Don't go all Billy. Go around, behind him. Slice and dice. Show him we nasty!"

"I dunno, man; Spud's awful big," said his friend. "And look at 'im!"

Bruce clenched his fists, ready to throw down, and glared at the punk. "...Come on." he scowled.

"Jeez, man..." The punk backed off, nervous. "Spud's into it."

Bruce looked very firm and stoic, even after his old age from being Batman himself a very long time ago.

"So, what? Slice and dice." The other punk chuckled.

"Come on." Bruce challenged without fear.

The two punks looked less interested now.

"No. Can't do it when they into it," One punk told his buddy. "Blow this, let's go to the arcade."

The two looked back at the old man before they decided to run away. Bruce sighed breathlessly as they ran off as he decided to get himself home as a full moon veered out into the night sky.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Schwartz house, Lionel, Cherry, and Thor were having dinner with their children: Felicity, Zofia, and LJ.

"You kids have fun in school today?" Thor asked.

"It was okay..." Zofia said softly.

"Yeah... Okay..." Felicity added.

"Mm-hmm," LJ replied. "Ich and Sandra are pretty neat, so we had lunch together today."

"I always did like that girl friend of yours," Cherry smirked. "Reminds me of my childhood."

LJ smiled. "I guess that makes sense," he replied. "...So, when are you guys gonna tell cousin Terry the truth?"

"All in good timing," said Lionel. "We just gotta know the right time to speak up."

"Oh, yeah, ya can't rush these things." Thor said as he tried to take food away from Felicity's plate.

Felicity didn't even seem to notice as she had other things on her mind.

"Thor..." Cherry nudged him a bit.

"I'm sorry, but this chicken is too good to ignore!" Thor defended bashfully.

"Then you can get some from the main plate, like the rest of us." Lionel replied.

"...You seem distracted, Sis," LJ told Felicity. "Something wrong?"

"I'm not very hungry..." Felicity said softly.

"But it's your favorite," Cherry told her. "Chicken Cordon Bleu."

"It's nothing... Really..." Felicity sulked a bit.

"Hey... You know you can talk to us about anything... Right?" said Zofia. "That's what family is for: we have each other's backs, no matter what happens."

"Yeah," LJ agreed. "If something's bugging you, then you can talk about it with us and get it off your chest."

Felicity looked over softly. The rest of the family showed warm smiles to show that she could talk to them if she wanted or needed to.

"...I got in a fight..." Felicity soon said softly.

"Who was it?" Lionel asked, his even tone contrasting with the slow irritation that he felt.

"It's okay... Nobody has to get hurt..." Felicity said softly.

"Tell me." Lionel told her.

Felicity looked away with a sharp sigh. "Katie La More."

"The blonde cheerleader?" Thor glared.

Felicity nodded with a shaky sigh. "Yes."

Lionel sighed. "...I'm not mad at you for standing up for yourself," he spoke. "...But I imagine that this was your last resort considering the teachers were ineffectual in stopping it."

Felicity nodded.

"Well... At least it wasn't your first plan," Lionel continued. "You aren't in trouble, Felicity."

"Did she do something to provoke you?" Cherry asked.

"She called me a 'freak'." Felicity sulked.

"Aw, Flick..." Cherry sighed as she rolled her eyes, not at her daughter though, but to the insult. "You're not a freak. You're unique. You might feel like you don't fit in and do what everybody else does, but so what? That makes you special. I was always very different from the other kids at school, but look at how I turned out."

"Exactly!" Lionel replied. "And besides, they say that the weakest dogs bark the loudest... So I'm guessin' that Katie broad was barkin' pretty loudly."

"She just made me feel hurt..." Felicity frowned. "I don't have any friends in school, so... I felt like she was right... I'm not sure if being special is going to help me win friends..."

"They'll come though." Zofia spoke up.

"But when?" Felicity sulked as she sunk in her chair. "Everybody already has someone, but I'm just the weirdo who sits at the cafeteria with her books."

"Hey," LJ said. "You're not weird. You're smart, and wonderful. Any putz would be lucky to have you as a friend. Usually they come around when you least expect them. It worked for me."

"Hmm..." Felicity set her head on the table with a sigh. "I wanna believe you all, but it just feels like no matter what I do, I can't connect with people."

"It'll work out," Thor smiled. "You'll see! The key is just to be yourself."

"I suppose I could try," Felicity relented.

"That's the spirit!" LJ beamed. "Lucky for us, you might have plenty of time to make friends tomorrow, considering that's when there's gonna be a huge heatwave... So lucky for us, we'll all be out of school."

"That reminds me, could we visit Grunkle Drell then?" Zofia asked.

"Why?" Cherry face-palmed.

"Their place is so cool and breezy," Zofia smiled. "And, erm... Heatwaves tend to make you snippy, Mother."

"I don't get snippy!" Cherry glared before she looked bashful and cleared her throat. "Ahem... I mean... I-I don't get snippy. I just... Prefer the cooler weather like Fall."

"Understandable," Lionel replied. "But I figured we could use that time to find and connect with your cousin Terry."

"Oh... Okay..." Zofia replied.

"We'll visit Uncle another time, like for a holiday," Thor smiled. "I don't think Mommy's too eager to see him right now."

"At least he gave us his blessing of becoming a family together." Cherry mumbled behind her glass of wine as she took a sip.

Lionel patted her on the back. "Yep," he replied. "And don't worry, I made sure to take precautions to keep us all protected from the heat tomorrow."

"You better hope so," Cherry replied. "For your sake... Otherwise, I'm cutting off more than Thor's hair short."

Thor and Lionel nervously crossed their legs from that while the kids looked confused of the reference.

"Y-Yes,'m," Lionel replied, nervously. "In fact... I'll do it now to make sure we get to keep them!" And he waved his finger, which began to glow before casting several multicolored rays over himself and the others. "There! Even when it's really warm, our bodies will be able to stay cool and not-sweaty."

"Hmm..." Cherry paused thoughtfully.

"It'll be great!" Thor grinned nervously. "Really great! Oh, please don't get too testy..."

"I'll think about it..." Cherry told them, purposely letting them stew as she sipped more of her wine.

Lionel and Thor both hugged each other as they sobbed in fear.

Felicity let out a small sigh as she picked at her food. "I'll never fit in at school."

"Never say never, Sister," Zofia advised. "You'll find some friends. I don't have many friends and I'm alright, aren't I?" she then smiled.

"...I suppose so..." Felicity said lightly.

"Besides, everyone knows popularity is fleeting," said LJ. "Almost everyone considers Icarus and Sandra losers, but I stick by them anyway! Though I guess... There IS someone at school..." he added, his face red.

"Hm?" Cherry asked.

"What does that mean?" Thor hid a small smirk. "Junior, do you feel special feelings for someone?"

"Maaaaaybe..." LJ replied.

"Oh, come now, you can talk to me," Thor beamed a bit. "I'm your mother, father, and uncle here."

"Is _that_ what the kids call you?" Cherry asked.

"I want to be whatever the kids want me to be." Thor smiled proudly.

"Well... Alright," said LJ. "Her name is Kimberly Lodoza."

"Hmm... Do I know her mother?" Cherry paused.

"Probably." LJ shrugged.

"I think she's that girl who sorta lives in a fantasy world," Thor spoke up. "Unicorns, rainbows, and all that jazz."

"Yeah..." LJ sighed. "She's pretty cool. Ich thinks she's neat and Sandra is alright with her hanging with us."

"Maybe you should have her over for supper sometime," Thor suggested. "I'd like to meet this girl too."

"Well, there is a Parent-Teacher Night coming up," Zofia replied. "You gonna come with us this time?"

"Maybe I will, I'd hafeta check my schedule, but this Kimberly girl sure sounds interesting." Thor chuckled.

LJ blushed. "Well... Okay then," he replied. "I figure I can make it work."

"I just hope I can make friends." Felicity sighed.

Thor frowned worriedly as he decided to do something to help out Felicity as she looked very sad and lonely about not having friends like her brother and sister did. Lionel nodded to him with a smile, as if saying "go for it".

"I'll treat her somehow," Thor whispered to Lionel. "I hate to see the little dear so sad."

"You and me both, big guy," Lionel replied. "All of us here would gladly go the extra degree to ensure her happiness."

"It's in her name after all." Cherry said to them with how Felicity got her name.

"Interesting point," LJ nodded. "So it's settled then. We'll go with Felicity to help her make some friends tomorrow, then maybe we'll be able to find cousin Terry!"

"Okay by me." Zofia replied.

Felicity smiled softly from her family's help.

"Good kids," Cherry approved. "You do me proud that you helped each other out like that. Makes me feel I did my job right as a mother."

The three kids smiled widely at that. And so, the next day, they decided to enact their plan.


	3. Chapter 3

"Okay... They should be here any minute now," LJ said, checking his watch. "I said for them to meet us in front of the house at 12:20 PM."

"I hope so..." Zofia sighed as she fanned herself a bit. "I feel like I'm on fire or something."

"It's 90° Fahrenheit, and boy-oh-BOY, it's hot enough to cook an egg on the sidewalk!" called a manic-sounding voice. "In fact..."

Then, an irritated sigh. "Ugh... Ichabod, don't tell me you're _actually_ gonna do it." replied another voice.

LJ smirked. "That's them, alright," he replied. "Yo, Ichabod! Sandra! Over here!" he shouted, waving his arms.

The two looked over and soon came that way.

"Thank goodness," Zofia said as she wiped her forehead. "It's probably hotter than The Wild West out here."

"You're tellin' me," Sandra groaned a bit. "I'd rather simmer than get scorched."

"Y'know, you two are lucky to be friends with someone who has magic powers," LJ replied, snapping his fingers.

Ichabod sniffed himself. "Funny... I don't feel sweaty... Or burny, either," he replied. "Et tu, Sandra?"

"Nope..." Sandra replied. "It's hot out, but I still feel like I'm room-temperature."

"Little trick I picked up from my namesake," LJ explained. "He cast the same one last night on the rest of the family."

"I could've used that from last night." Sandra smirked.

"Sorry about that," Zofia said. "At least we're all comfortable now."

"And that means my dads' things are safe!" LJ added. "...Whatever that means. Anyways, time to enact Operation: Find Felicity Friends!"

"The Triple F!" Ich proclaimed.

"Uh... Yeah..." Sandra shrugged from that. "Your sister doesn't have friends?"

"Not really," Zofia said. "Seems like she only gets attention is if Katie La More and that girl Audrey Rose see her, but they're the Queen Bees of her school."

"So in order to lift her spirits, we are gonna try and find kids her age, or at least close, to be friends with her!" LJ added. "Also so she'll have someone to stand up to those lousy jerks."

"You're so thoughtful," Sandra remarked. "Wish I had brothers and sisters like that."

"Well, we gotta think of someone around Felicity's age... Hmm..." Ich paused thoughtfully. "...How old is she again?"

The others groaned a bit from that as they began to look for teenagers who were around Felicity's age and grade so she would have a better of a chance to hang out with her possible new friends.

"...Would those people work?" suggested LJ, pointing to four teenagers hanging out near the steps of an apartment building.

The first one was a girl with green eyes and dark-purple hair; the next was another girl with dark-blue hair and a small tiara; third was a tan-skinned boy with a red ski cap and a vest; and fourth was a slightly shorter boy with black-and-white hair. The group looked over to see the quartet.

"Are they her age?" Sandra asked.

"Well... I dunno about that short boy, but the other three look the part," Zofia shrugged. "That one girl though looks like she's trying to be a princess."

"I've heard 'bout them," Ich said. "Some kids say they might be a bad influence, though that little guy looks like he couldn't scare the spots off of a Dalmatian."

"Well, it couldn't hurt to give them a try," LJ replied. "I say we go over and introduce them to one another. How about it, team?"

Ich hid behind Sandra like a coward.

"Oh, brother," Zofia rolled her eyes. "They're not gonna bite you!"

"Yeah, that's my job." Sandra smirked.

"C'mon then... Time's a-wastin'!" LJ declared as he headed off across the street to the four youths sitting on the steps.

Ich stepped back a bit.

"Aw, come on, ya big baby!" Sandra scoffed as she took his hand and pulled him over.

Zofia followed closely behind her brother, though she felt nervous herself as this crew looked rather rotten to the core.

* * *

"Hey, where's my handheld?" The youngest boy asked.

The older boy who looked a bit strong chuckled as he had it.

"Hey! Jay, give it back!" The youngest boy glared as he tried to reach for it, but was too short.

"Jump, Shorty, jump!" The other boy smirked as he held it over his head just out of his reach.

"Ugh... Knock it off," said the blue-haired girl. "Could you BE any more childish?"

LJ cleared his throat. "Excuse me... Don't mean to interrupt, but hi there. Glad to meet you. My name is LJ Schwartz and these are my sisters: Felicity and Zofia." he said.

Felicity went to turn away.

"No, no, no... You promised you'd stay to at least get to know them before you'd bail." Zofia told her older sister.

Felicity looked over before looking back at the other four. "...Hi..." she breathed softly.

"Hi," The shorter boy smiled. "Say, haven't I seen you in Mr. Deley's Science Class? You sit next to Chad."

"That dreamboat~" The blue-haired girl said with heart eyes while the purple-haired girl rolled her eyes from that.

"Uh, yeah," Felicity said to the boy. "He's a bit of an egoist though... I think a bucket of mud would be a better lab partner than him."

The purple-haired girl snickered at that. "Good one." she smirked.

"So far, so good." LJ said to himself.

Felicity looked a bit bashful from their attention.

"I'm Carlos," The short boy said as he shook hands with Felicity. "Say, I dunno about you, but I'm a science whiz. Maybe we could help you trade lab partners?"

"Are we allowed to do that?" Felicity asked.

"It doesn't hurt to ask," Carlos smiled with a small shrug. "I think we could get along great."

Felicity smiled a little. "Well... It is nice to meet you, Carlos," she replied. "And the rest of you are...?"

"Call me Mal," The purple-haired girl said as they shook hands before smirking a bit. "You're a little scrawny for your age, huh?"

"Hmph. My mother says I'm just right." Felicity retorted.

"Whatever you gotta tell yourself," Mal smirked. "I like your style though."

"I think she needs a new polish to bring out her eyes," The blue-haired girl said as she took a look at Felicity's hands. "Okay, no exceptions, Felicity. You and me are hitting the Mall right after school ASAP."

"Uh... Thanks... Um..." Felicity stammered as she didn't know this girl's name.

"My name is Evie and I will be your new fashion consultant." The girl smirked.

"Ooooookay...?" Felicity replied.

"Pushy, isn't she?" Ichabod remarked.

"Well, she definitely knows what she wants," LJ shrugged. "Gotta admire that sort of drive."

"Well, you always look so dainty at school," The taller boy said as he came to check over Felicity. "Honestly, I didn't even know you could talk."

"I'm a little shy for my age..." Felicity said bashfully.

"Someone's gotta protect you from the bullies and their shit," The boy said. "Jayden at your service, but everybody calls me Jay."

"Nice to meet you, Jay," Felicity replied, shaking his hand.

LJ sighed in relief. "Well... That went better than I expected." he said.

"Same here," Zofia replied. "Looks like it's working like a lucky charm."

Ich still hid behind Sandra.

"Speak for yourself." Sandra remarked.

"I think I've seen you in the gym a lot more with the other boys, even after class." Felicity said.

"What can I say?" Jay smirked a bit before he flexed his arm at her to show a strong deltoid. "Phys Ed is where I excel the best."

And so, Felicity and her new friends got off to a great start, talking and getting better acquainted with one another.

"I hope she'll do alright," Zofia said. "Mother said when Felicity was younger, she hated crowds, so she had to be home-schooled for a while."

"Well... She should be doing fine," replied LJ. "Besides, I think these five are gonna be great pals."

"I guess we can only hope." Zofia remarked.

"Okay, now that she's busy, what do we do?" Sandra asked as Ich finally came out of hiding from right behind her.

"Guess we could go visit cousin Terry with Mom, Dad, and Unc," LJ suggested. "Besides... It's time he knew the truth."

"All right," Zofia said before sighing sharply. "I just hope that Terry takes it alright."

"Here's hoping." LJ nodded as he and the others went off to find their parents.

* * *

"See?" Lionel told Cherry nervously. "I told you it worked! You're not even sweaty!"

"Hm..." Cherry paused.

"So we're good, right?" Thor added. "Please say we're good... I'm getting winter chills from your sardonic gaze."

"Well... All right..." Cherry soon told them. "We're good."

"Oh, thank you-thank you-thank you!" Lionel exclaimed as he got down on his knees and began kissing her shoes in gratitude.

Thor wiped his forehead off with a sigh of relief. "That... Was _close_." he remarked.

"You got pretty lucky," Cherry said. "Now enough about me... I guess we'll round up the kids to take care of, erm, The Terry Situation?"

"Right!" Lionel exclaimed, getting to his feet. "The time is nigh!"

"I'll be right there!" Thor added.

Cherry nodded to them as she came to the bathroom briefly.

"I need something with chicken... Or chocolate... Or both..." Thor said.

"You have a massive craving for that lately, are you feeling okay?" Lionel asked.

"I dunno, I just feel so hungry for sweets and meats together like that peanut butter, tuna fish, and marshmallow sandwich I had last night before bed." Thor shrugged.

"Sweets and meats?" Lionel pondered. "Unusual cravings? I wonder..."

"...You don't think I could? ...No! No way!" Thor replied. "I'm a dude!"

"Well, part of the time," Lionel replied. "Perhaps during the time you were female..."

"...NOOOO." Thor whispered loudly.

"Have you tried checking?" Lionel asked.

"I don't know if I could check with... Erm... This..." Thor said as he looked between his legs.

"As _Electra_ , Thor!" Lionel told him sharply.

"Ohhh..." Thor said bashfully. "Uh... I'm a little embarrassed to."

"It's fine," said Lionel. "We can zap back home and THEN check. That way only we can see."

"I-I couldn't be, could I?" Thor smiled bashfully.

"Well... Felicity looks more like you than she does with me..." Lionel reminded.

"But she came out of Cherry." Thor slanted his eyes.

"Yes, but you're Felicity's father, so maybe you're about to become a mother." Lionel replied.

"...What would Uncle Drell say?" Thor mumbled a bit. "Dudes don't get preggers."

"Well, those dudes were never turned into females for a period of time," Lionel replied. "And besides... It couldn't hurt to check. Just in case, you know."

"Well... Uh... Okay..." Thor said bashfully. "I'll see what I can do."

Lionel gave a nod, and he and Thor were both teleported back to the house. Next, Lionel took a deep breath, cracked his knuckles, and snapped his fingers, engulfing Thor in a cloud of smoke. When said smoke cleared, Thor was now a buxom, long-haired woman with a rockin' bod. Her clothes were still the same, but they'd been altered to suit her.

"Alrighty then..." said Lionel. "And now... To check."

"Oh, all right..." "Electra" said with a bit of a husky female voice to match which sounded like a sexy smoker voice.

Lionel handed Electra test and she took it to use the bathroom with for a few moments.

* * *

Lionel read a magazine for a while before Electra let out a bit of a shrill gasp. "What's the verdict?" he then asked. "Yes or No?"

Electra held out the test for him to see for himself. Lionel flinched a bit as he took a brief look before his eyes widened as he saw a plus sign.

"That explains why I've been so hungry lately." Electra said bashfully.

"So... Guess LJ might get that little brother sooner than expected," Lionel replied. "Congratulations, Electra~"

Electra chuckled bashfully from that. "Aw, shucks!"

Lionel leaned over and kissed her on the lips.

"Okay, I think I'm good to go..." Electra said. "I'm just worried I might get a case of bad mood swings."

"Don't worry, I saw this eventuality and have prepared to counter it," Lionel replied as his finger began to glow. He tapped Electra gently; first on her head, and then on her stomach. "That spell should prevent any and all mood swings."

Electra sniffled and wiped her eyes.

"You okay though?" Lionel asked.

"Sorry, still a little emotional," Electra replied. "Like, telling Cherry and the kids."

"Well... We can handle this," replied Lionel. "Together."

"Yeah... When you're right, you're right," Electra replied. "Should I change back, do you think?"

"If you want to." replied Lionel.

"Meh..." Electra shrugged and used magic to change himself back into his male form. "Ah~..."

"Come on, we better get going." Lionel said.

"All right, right behind ya." Thor replied as he followed after Lionel.

And so, Lionel snapped his fingers and poofed the both of them back to their previous location, where Cherry exited the restroom shortly afterwards.

* * *

"Did you guys just go back into the house for a second?" Cherry asked, a bit confused.

"Maybe..." Thor blinked. "Are we in trouble for that?"

"No, I just thought maybe I saw you." Cherry replied.

"Well... We have another announcement for later," replied Lionel. "But it can wait. Time to find the kids."

And with a nod of his head, Lionel teleported the three of them to the current location of LJ, Zofia, Felicity, and their friends.

* * *

"Well, Felicity, you sure seem interesting." Mal said as they came to the park, sitting under a shady tree though.

"I guess that's the best thing anybody could call me." Felicity shrugged as that was better than anything negative.

"It's not much, but it's a start," replied Carlos. "Maybe... We could all hang out again sometime?"

"I heard some kids talkin' about a party," Jay suggested as he tossed up a baseball in the air back and forth by himself. "Maybe we could go to that?"

"A school party?" Evie asked. "Are we even invited?"

"I hear anyone can go as long as they're a student," Jay shrugged. "They're looking for a few chaperones though before Friday hits."

"Maybe our dad and uncle could chaperone?" suggested LJ. "They've done stuff like that before."

The four newbies looked over before shrugging.

"I dunno if I'll be able to go anyway," Carlos shrugged as he crossed his arms. "Pretty sure my mom's gonna want me to help scrape her bunions."

"My mom's probably gonna put so much make-up on me that I'll look like a clown." Evie spoke up.

"My mom's something else." Mal rolled her eyes.

"Your mom do stuff like that Jay?" Felicity asked as she attempted to make conversation.

"Oh, I don't have a mom." Jay shrugged.

"Hey, same," Ichabod replied. "I mean, I get to see my mom sometimes, but my dad has custody."

"Well, at least you see her." Jay shrugged.

"Oh, sorry, Jay, I didn't mean to offend you." Felicity said.

"Meh, it's okay," Jay replied. "I try not to let it bother me just for the sake of fishing for sympathy from others."

"I can respect that." Sandra replied.

"Hey, kids!" Lionel called out. "Time to visit cousin Terry!"

"Looks like this is the moment," said LJ. "Now or never... Or probably later."

"Ya guys remember to have fun, okay?" Ich replied.

"Sure, buddy," LJ said. "I just hope it goes well."

"Well, you don't know until you got there yourself." Sandra advised.

The adults waited in the car as the kids came over, though Thor appeared to be knitting as he was never shy to get in touch with his feminine side.

* * *

Lionel and the others drove to a neighborhood in Gotham, eventually coming to a small apartment.

Cherry checked the DNA tracker. "This is the place." she stated.

"Oh, good," Thor smiled. "I sure hope he's excited to see us."

"Give or take," Cherry smirked a bit. "Hopefully this is a decent visit regardless of emotion."

"Let's head on in." Lionel replied as he headed up to the door and knocked on it.

A redheaded woman came to the door.

"Hey, Mary." Cherry said.

"Mrs. McGinnis." The woman reminded her.

"Hey, we're all family here, I'll call you what I want," Cherry replied, a bit sassily. "So, hey, Mary. We'd like to come in."

"Certainly." Mary replied as she let them come inside.

"Is Terry home?" asked Lionel. "We need to talk."

"Yeah, he's in his room, I'll go get him." Mary replied as she walked off.

"Thank you, Mary." Thor smiled.

"Don't start that with me." Mary scolded.

"Apologies, Ms. McGinnis," replied Lionel. "I just want to say that we appreciate you taking young Terrence in... And we're sorry for your husband's untimely death."

Mary sighed. "Wasn't your fault... It was those lousy Mutant punks..." she said as she went to go and get Terry, leaving the group with her younger son, Matt, who was playing a video game.

Felicity decided to sit comfortably.

"Did you have fun today?" Thor smiled.

"A little bit," Felicity said with a small sigh. "I met four kids from school. They seemed to like me okay."

"You have friends?" Matt asked. "Aren't you an emo?"

"She is a _goth_ ," Lionel replied firmly. "And just because she is, doesn't mean she doesn't want friends."

"She takes after me, kiddo." Cherry added.

Matt looked sheepish now as Felicity sat with him as she waited.

"You're perfect just the way you are." Thor smiled at Felicity.

"Thank you." Felicity approved.

Terry soon came out after his mother brought him out to see the guests.

"Hi, cousin," LJ waved to Terry. "Nice to meet you."

"Terry... There's something we need to talk about." said Thor.

"Whatever happened, it wasn't me," Terry glared slightly. "You don't have proof."

"Nothing like that," Thor replied. "We promise."

"It's an important secret," Lionel added. "One concerning where you came from."

"What're you talking about?" Terry asked.

"Well... You were adopted by the McGinnis family 16 years ago." explained Cherry.

"Your real parents are Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle," added Lionel. "But they knew that if word got out about them having a child... Every criminal lowlife in town would be after you, trying to kidnap you for ransom."

"Wh-What...?" Terry asked. "No... That's not possible... My dad's dead."

"Your adoptive father," Cherry corrected. "But it's true... And I should know."

"After all... We were the ones who left you in the McGinnis family's care," Thor added. "Though we did watch over you, when we could."

"...You did...?" Terry asked. "I don't get it."

"I'm sure this is shocking, but I'm not one to lie," Cherry said. "We're family, Terry, as I am the niece of Selina Kyle."

"You're Selina's niece?" Terry asked.

"Yes... Her... Only living relative," Cherry replied softly. "You're destined for greatness, especially after what has become of Jason Todd."

Lionel nodded sadly. "Aye. Guess that makes us your aunt and uncles," he replied. "I know this must be... Bewildering, but we'll gladly answer any questions you might have about this turn of events."

"Well... You already told me why they gave me up..." Terry huffed a bit as he crossed his arms. "So, what does this mean? You're gonna make me leave this place I've called home my whole life and give up the life I have here?"

"Nobody said you had to give up anything," Lionel replied. "You may still live here if you like... Though when the time comes, we may need your help. Hopefully you're prepared to answer the call. And... Even though they never got to see you grow up, I know that Bruce and Selina are proud of you. They always _have_ been."

"Oh, yeah?" Terry asked.

"Oh, sure," Thor smiled. "You can trust us."

"So, uh, are you... With these two?" Terry asked. "Like, are you these guys's father or what...?"

"I'm whatever the kids want me to be," Thor smiled. "Mom... Dad... Uncle... Whatever makes them happy."

"Yep," Lionel agreed. "Maybe you could get to spend some time with your parents? I think it'd really make their day, y'know? So, unless you have any more questions, we'll be going now."

"I just don't know how to feel about all of this," Terry replied. "It's a lot to take in, ya know?"

"Completely understandable," replied Cherry. "Most stuff like this usually is. We'll give you plenty of time to think about it."

"In the meantime, you all take care," said Lionel as he picked up a fedora and climbed onto Thor's shoulder. "I reckon we ought to be going."

"I suppose so." Terry shrugged.

"Give us a call though if ya wish." Cherry said as she slipped the teenage boy a calling card.

Terry took the card and slid it into one of his jacket pockets.

"See you around, Terry," Thor added as they exited. "Hopefully."

LJ, Felicity, and Zofia waved to him as they followed their parents out the door.

"Yeah, sure, see ya." Terry shrugged a bit.

* * *

"Well, that went a little better than I expected." Cherry said to the others on the way out.

"Terry... He just... He just felt like a dark and tormented soul... Like he needed someone to heal him..." Zofia said bashfully, even though she was technically related to Terry.

"Indeed," LJ nodded. "Under all that gruff and coarse personality is a genuinely nice person. I figure he just needs time to bring out that side of himself."

"Yeah, but the big thing is that we did it," Cherry said softly. "I hope Bruce and Selina appreciate what I did for them."

"What we did and I'm sure they do," Thor smiled sadly as he thought about the older days. "Still better than my parents some of the times."

Lionel gently patted him on the back as they headed home. "Hey... At least your little sister supported us." he stated.

"Heh... Yeah..." Thor chuckled lightly. "She was the cutest little flower girl. I'm happy though at least Mom came with Uncle Drell to the ceremony."

"I knew there was a reason I liked Moxie better than Zolten, even though neither of them visit anymore." Cherry crossed her arms.

"It's their loss, I guess," Thor said. "I'm just glad I get to be happy with my new life instead of being unhappy with the old."

"And if _you're_ happy, then so are we." Lionel beamed as they came inside and closed the door.

"Heard it was gonna rain tonight." LJ noted as he and his sisters took off their shoes and put them away.

"That'll be a good time for you kids to sleep." Cherry said.

"Mother, why do you, Papa, and Uncle stay up late?" Felicity asked.

"You'll understand soon," Cherry smiled. "I've always been a creature of the night, and I don't just mean during my times at the theater for midnight showings of a movie I enjoy with your dad while your uncle stays home with the kids."

Thor smiled bashfully from that.

"Your uncle never understood that movie, but maybe you could come with us since you're older sometime." Cherry suggested to help make her elder daughter cheer up a little.

"I suppose that would be nice." Felicity replied.

"You could at least try it out," Cherry said. "Get some sleep though."

"Fair enough," Felicity smiled softly. "You just try not to stay up so late, Mother."

"Don't worry about me." Cherry replied.

"Alright..." Felicity smiled as she turned to her siblings. "Now to prep you two for beddy-bye."

LJ sighed. "But I'm not even tired!" he protested.

"I'm not tired either." Zofia added.

"What if Big Sister sang you a lullaby?" Felicity suggested.

"...I guess..." LJ replied, puffing his cheeks out.

Felicity came to help her brother and sister to bed while the adults stayed in the living room for a while longer.

* * *

Eventually, Thor's phone rang, and he picked it up. "Hello?"

 ** _"Thor... Are Cherry and Lionel there?"_ **asked Bruce's voice.

"Yep," Thor replied.

 _ **"Good,"**_ said Bruce. **_"Put me on speaker, this is for all three of you."_**

"Sure, hold on." Thor said as he hit the speaker button.

"Who is it?" Cherry asked as she got a glass of water.

"Hurry, it's Bruce." Thor replied as he held out the phone so that they could all hear.

Cherry sat down and drank her water as Bruce spoke.

 ** _"Cherry... Lionel... Thor..."_** said Bruce. **_"It's time. Tonight... The Dark Knight Returns."_**

The three gasped a bit to each other from that.

 ** _"And... I can't do it alone,"_** added Bruce. **_"So, I have to ask... Are you in?"_**

"Well, uh, um, I-I-I guess..." Thor said a bit nervously.

"Though we have new lives now," Cherry said softly. "We have a family."

 ** _"Then don't do it for ME,"_** replied Bruce. ** _"Do it for them... So they can walk the streets without fear of being attacked or harmed."_**

"Aw, gee... Whatya say, guys?" Thor asked.

"Well... I guess that would be okay..." Cherry said softly. "We better tell the kids though that we might be busy for a while."

"Solid idea," replied Lionel, as he teleported upstairs to the kids' bedrooms. "Felicity, Uncle Bruce needs our help with something important, so we're going to be out for the night. Until we return, I'm placing you in charge." he explained.

"Oh, uh, m-m- _me_?" Felicity asked nervously.

"Well, you are the oldest and you are very responsible." Lionel replied.

"I-I suppose I am," Felicity said. "Is everything okay though?"

"Yes, Felicity, everything's okay," Lionel explained. "You could say, in fact, we're taking part in a sort of clean-up project to help the city. Improve the standard of living and whatnot."

"Hmm... Well... Okay..." Felicity said. "Just promise me you'll be careful and get back home safely."

"Cross my heart," Lionel replied as he made an X shape over his chest with his fingers. He then hugged Felicity. "Cuz you're one of the reasons I have to come back."

Felicity hugged him back with tears in her eyes. "Okay," she said softly. "Be careful and come back soon. I'll do the best that I can."

"Atta girl," Lionel replied. "I believe in you." And in a flourish, he poofed quietly away, so not to disturb LJ and Zofia.

Felicity looked over to her little brother and sister with a soft sigh as she hoped that she would be a decent babysitter in the absence of the adults.

* * *

And so, Lionel popped back downstairs. "I think we might be due for a costume update," he said. "Wouldn't you two agree?"

"Well, I do suppose it would be a good time to let Thunder Boy grow up a little." Thor said.

"Yeah, Lady Gothika was sort of a name I made up on the spot," Cherry added with a shrug. "...I do have another costume though from Aunt Selina from the first time I met her back when we were school students."

"Alright then... Bring it out." Lionel advised as he set to making a new Bat-Mite suit.

"Hmm... Lionel, you're good with superhero names?" Thor began.

"Yeah?" Lionel replied.

"What do ya say to the name 'Voltage'?" Thor asked.

"It works," Lionel replied. "Considering that your powers were more geared towards electricity."

Thor beamed a bit from that as he worked on his new super-suit. Cherry soon brought out the costume that Selina got for her which seemed to be a bit cat-based with a dress with a cat-like mask with a cape and boots. 

"Kinda... Catty, isn't it?" Thor remarked.

"Don't judge, Stormcloud." Cherry smirked from that.

Lionel gave an impressed whistle. "Ooh, nice~!" he exclaimed. "Still going by L.G., or you got a new name to go with your new threads?"

"Best I got is Catgirl." Cherry shrugged.

"I guess adopting Catwoman's moniker is out, then?" asked Lionel as he finished his suit.

"Meh," Cherry shrugged from that. "I do like cats though, of course, probably not as much as Aunt Selina."

"I don't think anybody likes cats as much as she does," Thor chuckled. "Whatever makes you happy though."

"So, what? I'd be Catwoman II?" Cherry replied.

"More or less, yes," Lionel replied. "I figured it'd be a nice little tribute to the original."

"Well, okay, that works." Cherry said.

"Plus, despite your amazing aging and still looking like a teenager at your age, I doubt Catgirl will work out." Thor smiled nervously.

"Fair enough, Thunder Boy." Cherry teased.

"Ah! It's Voltage now." Thor smirked.

"For the time being, I suppose I'll still be Bat-Mite," said Lionel, putting on his new outfit. "Because I don't really have any ideas for what to call myself now. Unless one of you has any ideas?"

"Bat-Mite's always suited you to me." Thor remarked.

"Yeah, me too," Cherry had to admit. "I can't really imagine you as anybody else."

"...I guess, even though the name feels kinda childish." Lionel replied as he put in his cowl.

"We'll decide on that in due time," Thor replied as he snapped on his gloves. "I love Bat-Mite either way."

Cherry slicked into her Junior Catwoman outfit before she stepped about a bit to admire her reflection a little from her new look. "Hmm... I kinda like this..." she said. "No complaints of course."

"Right," Bat-Mite replied. "And now... Let's roll."

Cherry and Thor nodded from that before they dashed out to get some work done for the night as they were called away by the phone call that represented justice.


	4. Chapter 4

Out in the city, a woman was covering her head with a newspaper as she made her way home, but she stepped in a pothole on the sidewalk.

Then she heard a creepy voice: "...Come in here where it's warm, Mommy...." It said.

The woman backed up. "No, please!" she exclaimed, before the creepy guy yanked her in, making her drop her groceries.

But before he had a chance to do anything to her, a blue-gloved hand reached out and yanked the guy into a dumpster. "I am the terror... That flaps in the night..." said an echoing, whispery voice that seemed to vanish into the night.

"What the hell was that?!" The guy grunted.

"I hope you're not afraid of a little darkness..." A female voice said with some piercing yellow cat-like eyes before the figure seemed to flash away from darkness.

"Who's there?" The guy glared sharply. "Show yourself, you coward."

"I am the four-parter that doesn't live up to the hype...." said the first voice again. 

Suddenly, a jet-black whip lashed out of the shadows and wrapped around the guy, dragging him screaming back into the darkness. The guy yelled out of fear.

"Amateurs..." A third voice chuckled which followed by a thunderclap with a light lightning bolt in the far off distance.

"Sometimes these geeks just make it too easy." The first voice remarked.

"I think you watch a lot of cartoons though." The second male voice chuckled from the first.

"I gotta admit this though... That was actually pretty fun..." The third voice said. "Reminds me of the good old days sometimes."

"Yeah," The first voice seemed to smile. "Like the good old days, but better."

"Should we look around for more?" The third voice smirked. "This is almost... Arousing..."

"But of course, Cara Mia." The first voice said.

The three stepped into the light together as they all shared smirks with each other.

"We can't tell the kids." Voltage said.

"At least not right now." Catwoman II replied.

"Exactly," replied Bat-Mite. "Probably Felicity, though. She's old enough for this sort of secret."

"Oh, yeah, she's always been mature for her age, even if she had a hard time fitting in with other kids..." Catwoman II sighed.

"Kids are just hard to connect with sometimes," Voltage said. "I had a great time home-schooling her though."

"At least she's made some friends now," Bat-Mite replied. "And with her at home, there won't be any trouble."

"We're great parents." Voltage beamed.

"And great predecessors for Batman and Catwoman," Catwoman II added. "I just hope that Terry took the news alright. Maybe we'll see him when he's a little older if he's accepted what's been asked of him within a few months or so."

"Let's hope so," Bat-Mite replied as they headed off.

* * *

Elsewhere in the city, a taxi was waiting for its passengers. A woman was shoved into the backseat, followed by a tall man in a white cowboy hat and coat.

"Get'cho ass in the car; we're takin' a ride." The tall man snapped. 

The driver just paid no mind to this and kept his eyes turned to the road.

"Please, Silk!" The woman sobbed as she was forced into the car. "Not the face."

"You're paining me, Joannie," The tall man smirked as he brought out a switchblade knife to keep her quiet. "You're messing with my livelihood."

"Hey, man, take it somewhere else," The driver complained. "I just had the seats cleaned."

"Shut your hairy face and drive." Silk scoffed as he gave him a bunch of money.

"Dog-eat-dog world, I guess." The driver said as he accepted the money.

"Look, Joannie, you went and grew a new nostril." Silk told the hysterical woman.

There was then a loud thud heard above them.

"What the hell was that?" The driver asked as that almost made him jump.

"Something's on the roof. Someone thinks they're gonna mess with me?" Silk asked, taking out a gun and sticking his hand out the window... Only for it to get punched out of his hand. Then, a huge, gaping hole was torn in the roof and he was yanked through it.

While Batman was whaling on the guy, Joannie got out of the car and ran for her life.

The driver decided to use that time to get away, though his car seemed to stall a bit. "Oh, man, oh, man. Start already."

Silk groaned as he was thrown onto the hood of the car which startled the driver. Batman impatiently knocked on the window then. The driver looked over before rolling his window down only for The Dark Knight to take the money away from him to shred it up into pieces.

"All risk... No rewards." Bat-Mite snickered. 

Batman looked over to the three.

"Batman," Voltage said. "Long time, no see."

"Yeah," Catwoman II added. "I thought you retired."

"Tried it, it wasn't for me," Batman replied. "This city needs me."

"Are you sure you want to at your age?" Catwoman II asked.

"I have to... Wait... Gothy...?" Batman replied as he felt surprised.

"It's Catwoman II now," The heroine told him. "Lady Gothika died a long time ago."

"Rather, she's been retired." Bat-Mite replied, now wearing a black suit with red wings and a red bat-insignia on the front.

"Hmm..." Batman paused thoughtfully.

"Also, Thunder Boy grew up." Voltage added.

"I guess none of us could stay away from The Hammer of Justice." Batman said to the three.

"Indeed," Bat-Mite replied. "So let's use it to nail down crime!"

"Now you're talkin'." Batman smirked from that.

And so they headed off to dispense some serious justice.

"Are we sure it's a good idea for him to come back to work?" Voltage whispered.

"Probably a good idea to just go with it until he snaps out of it." Catwoman II whispered back.

"Solid." Bat-Mite added.

* * *

Meanwhile, two girls were walking home in the rain.

"Great... Figure I wanna get all soaked." grumbled the first girl, a redhead with glasses.

The second girl with long black hair followed after her as it rained down on them. "I don't know," she said with a bit of a whimper. "I heard the Mutants hang here."

"A little backbone, Michelle?" The redheaded girl advised. "Better in here than out there. At least the lights are bright."

As if on cue, the lights shot out which left them in the dark.

"Carrie?" Michelle whimpered from that.

Carrie rolled her eyes. "Don't go all billy; they'll come back on in a sec." she told her friend.

But then they heard creepy noises. "Chick-chick-chiiiick... Chicken legs..." said a voice.

Suddenly, they found themselves surrounded by the Mutant gangsters.

"Chicken legs, licking legs," said one. "Slice-and-diiiice."

Catwoman II stealthed around like her catty aunt would as she came to sneak by with the others to stop this thug. Batman tossed out some sharp Baterangs at the knived gangster which made him yell out from pain.

"What?" Another gangster asked the hurt one. "What happened?"

"My arm!" The guy cried out from pain. "Something's stuck in my arm."

"I got my nine. Anything moves, I'll--" The third glared as he took out his gun until he yelled out as he got hit by thunderbolts which seemed to come from nowhere.

"Where'd you go?!" asked the fourth as he took up his gun and tried to shoot Batman, but he kept missing. Just then, Bat-Mite leapt down, bobbed and weaved through the hail of bullets, then grabbed the punk and threw him into the neon sign, electrocuting him.

The two girls glanced at the vigilantes who had saved them.

"Don't you know... It's dangerous to go out alone?" Bat-Mite remarked with a wink.

"What the...?" Carrie asked. "Where did you guys come from?"

"You don't wanna know..." Voltage said a bit ominously.

A bolt of lightning lit up the night sky, and the next time Carrie looked, the group was gone.

"Who were they?" Michelle asked Carrie.

"I'm... I'm not sure..." Carrie replied.

* * *

It seemed to be a long night for Batman and his little helpers, though it was mostly fun for them. They each leapt across the night skies, as lightning flashed and illuminated their silhouettes. This, of course, did not go unnoticed by most citizens on the night streets of the city. Batman soon leapt down onto the roof of a car being driven by bank robbers and attacked them, making them crash near an abandoned building. None of them were killed, but they were disoriented by the crash.

"Sorry, not sorry." Catwoman II remarked from the impact before she stepped back into the shadows.

The robbers groaned as one got out of the car and removed his mask as he held out his gun.

"That was the Batman." The robber glared as he looked around for the Dark Knight.

The others came out, but they suddenly had to hide away as the police car came to them as they ran away into the building.

"I never thought he was real," The passenger cop said before pointing ahead to see Batman. "Look."

"These men are mine." Batman told them gravely as he dashed off to go after the robbers.

"Batman sure is destructive tonight," Catwoman II remarked from his behavior. "Sorta reminds me of when we had to team-up with Harley Quinn to prevent the... Erm... Plantzoids as Bat-Mite would say."

"That's just because he's been out of action for so long," Bat-Mite replied. "He's been itching for a chance to get back into the swing of things!"

"I don't whether to be proud or scared." Catwoman II remarked.

"C: All of the above." Voltage said from that.

"Works for me." Bat-Mite shrugged as they followed Batman into the building.

"You heard the man." The older cop smirked a bit as he came out of the car.

"You crazy? I'm going in." The younger cop scoffed as he followed after Batman with his gun.

"You don't wanna do that, kid." The older cop tried to warn him.

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the building, the thugs were on the verge of panicking.

"Couldn't be... Turk said he killed Batman..." said the first.

"Turk says a lotta things." replied his friend.

Batman decided to make his entrance with his grappling hook as the thugs walked among each other.

One thug felt apprehensive as he stepped onto the floorboard in front of him which nearly sank from his step. "This floor don't feel safe." he then spoke up.

"Live dangerously," The other told him sharply. "And shut up."

Batman was about to climb up the rope, though he felt a bit winded due to his old age.

"Maybe you should set this one out." Catwoman II said to him as she felt worried he might hurt himself.

Batman said nothing, he just kept going.

"If it IS him, he'd hafta be pretty old." said another thug.

His friend shushed him as they suddenly heard a creaking noise from one of the pipes.

"This is freaky..." said one thug. "He never made noise before..."

Batman grunted as he tried to climb up, though the thugs saw him and shot their pistols right at him.

Catwoman II stepped back a bit with worry before she looked around as she looked down to see she had company. "Where'd you come from, huh?" she asked before she bent down to pick up the cat who mewed at her, nuzzling up against her.

Some other cats began to come out all around her like they usually did with her aunt in the old days. The thugs were still shooting.

"Watch it, you're gonna hit..."

"Mackie? Yeah, I think I did."

"But I still don't see--... HKKK!!" Any further words the man would've uttered were silenced when a rope shot around his throat and yanked him down like a fish on a hook.

"Don't make me make the forecast sunny with a chance of thundered justice." Voltage warned firmly.

One of the thugs stomped down the stairs as the rookie cop stood behind Batman. "Everybody freeze... OW!" he yelped as Batman knocked his gun from his hand.

Blending back into the darkness, Batman watched and plotted his next move. Sensing his next opportunity, he launched a kick to the thug's stomach, breaking his femur bone. Voltage cupped his mouth, but swallowed thickly as he tried to stay strong.

"Has anyone seen Catwoman II?" Bat-Mite asked as he came to help out Voltage and Batman.

"Those cats look like they're attracted to her somehow." Voltage pointed out to the clowder that surrounded Catwoman II.

Bat-Mite walked curiously towards the clowder of curious felines surrounding Catwoman II.

"You're under arrest, mister!" said the rookie. "You just crippled that man!"

Batman didn't even look up. "He's young... He'll walk again," he replied. "But you'll stay scared, won't you, punk?"

The rookie kept his gun trained on him. "I mean it. Get away from him!"

But his superior just put his hand on the gun with a stern look. "He's being patient with you as it is, kid," he told him, before tipping his hat at Batman. "Nice to have you back, Bats."

"Hello." Voltage said.

"Oh, and you've brought friends with you," The superior cop said before looking at the rookie a bit sharply. "Go to their car, kid. Get the loot."

"The pain," The thug groaned as Batman frisked him a bit. "I can't stand it."

"I don't believe this." The rookie grumbled as he walked off with a flashlight.

"It's not in their car; was there a second car at the bank?" Batman asked firmly.

"Yeah, an old jalopy," The older cop replied. "Didn't think--"

"You weren't supposed to." Batman cut him off.

The older cop hid a small smirk from that. "You know, I saw you once before. Years ago, I was a rookie like schmuck-face there and--"

"Tell Gordon we have to talk." Batman firmly requested.

"Sure thing, Bats," replied the cop. "But how's he supposed to get in touch with yo--" But when he turned back, Batman and the others were gone.

The cop adjusted his hat. "...Oh, yeah; now I remember." he remarked.

* * *

Of course, this was all over the news the next day, including a case of two abducted children who were luckily found.

"You kids try to have a good day at school," Cherry said as she cleaned up after breakfast. "Felicity, turn off that TV."

Felicity looked over before she did as her mother asked of her before she hugged her knees. "I'm not sure if I can go to school today..." she said softly. "I feel... Too sick."

"You sure?" asked Cherry, coming over and feeling her forehead. "Well, you haven't got a fever... What's going on, Felicity? You can tell me."

"...How can I show my face in school after what happened the other day?" Felicity sighed as she held her head.

"So that's what's up..." Cherry said softly. "Felicity, look... As long as you have friends who surround you and love you, the other people don't matter. Even the roughest days of school between me and Atticus always felt just a little bit better when we had each other, he was like a brother to me."

"That was the old days though," Felicity pouted. "Things are different now."

"Well... What about those kids you met at the park?" Cherry asked.

"They probably forgot all about me." Felicity sulked as she looked like she could cry.

"I doubt it," Cherry replied. "So I suggest you go find them as soon as possible in school today. They probably miss you very much and are looking forward to seeing you again."

"Yeah," LJ replied. "Ya never know until you try."

Felicity sighed a bit.

"What if I went into school with you?" Cherry offered.

"No... That would look weird..." Felicity pouted. "Going into school with my mom? I'd look like a big baby or something..."

Cherry looked very soft. "I would've given anything to have my mother come into school with me..." she then said softly as she gave her older daughter a tight hug to help comfort her. "Come here."

Felicity hesitated, but eventually returned the hug to her mother.

"Atta girl," Zofia encouraged her sister. "Besides, you wanted friends, we helped you meet them. I think they'd be awful bummed that their pal wasn't at school."

"Do you think they'll still talk to me?" Felicity asked. "Maybe they just pretended to like me."

"Oh, you stop that," Cherry firmly pouted as she patted her on the head. "Kids, go grab your stuff. I'll take you to school today."

The kids looked to each other and walked off to get ready for the school day.

"Hey, guys," Cherry said as she came into the bedroom as Thor and Lionel were in bed together, though Thor looked a little sick, but not too much. "I'm gonna take the kids to school today. I think Flick needs a little confidence boost."

"Well, alright then," Lionel replied. "Give her my regards."

"...Are you guys about to snuggle without me?" Cherry pouted. "I'm cold too..."

"Lionel can snuggle with you later," Thor smiled sickly. "I'm gonna stay in bed a while longer. Thanks for driving the kids and taking care of breakfast."

"Well... All right... See ya..." Cherry said as she walked out of the room from that.

* * *

"We'll keep it warm for ya!" Lionel called, before turning to face Thor. "Now... Where were we?" he asked with a smile.

"I believe I was about to be punished for not paying my cable bill?" Thor smirked.

"Ah, right..." Lionel replied, a bit confused about his response.

Thor chuckled a bit.

"Is that medicine making you loopy?" Lionel asked.

"The princess needs a special cookie to save the kingdom." Thor replied.

Lionel sighed. "You know what? Let's just make a pillow fort." he replied with a shrug.

"Yeah!" Thor beamed.

Lionel rolled his eyes as Thor smiled as he hummed to himself.


	5. Chapter 5

Cherry decided to drop off LJ and Zofia at school first before she took Felicity to school so that they could walk in together. LJ and Zofia climbed out of their mother's minivan and waved to her as they walked into their school for the day. Cherry waved back as she came to drive Felicity to her school. Felicity stared off into space as she twiddled her thumbs quietly before the van stopped in front of the school. After the van stopped, Cherry came to go out into the school with Felicity as the other students hung out by their lockers, talking to each other before the class bell would ring before they looked over to see the mother and daughter on the way. Felicity stepped out of the minivan, her eyes glancing around. For a time, her search seemed fruitless, until...

"Hey! Felicity!" Carlos called out; he was waving his arms to get her attention.

"Huh?" Felicity blinked before looking around.

"I think that's one of your friends now." Cherry told Felicity softly.

"Over here!" Carlos continued shouting. "You think she sees me waving? Should I get the sparklers?"

Felicity looked a little bashful from Carlos's excitement.

"I think she sees you, dude." Jay told Carlos.

"Have a good day at school," Cherry told Felicity. "Your father packed a special lunch. Maybe you could share it with your pals."

"Maybe..." Felicity replied as she climbed out. "Have a good day, Mother."

"You too, dear, see you later." Cherry said as she drove off back home.

Felicity took a deep breath and came to see Carlos who smiled at her.

"Hey, Felicity," Carlos smiled. "Great to see you again."

Felicity smiled back. "I could say the same...I almost didn't show up today." she replied.

"How come?" asked Evie. "You didn't have a fashion emergency, did you? I hate when that happens!"

"No... Nothing like that..." Felicity said softly. "I guess I was just... Unsure..."

"About us being friends for real with you?" Jay replied. "We get that a lot."

"Oh, you do?" Felicity asked bashfully.

"Eh, long story, but it'll be alright," Jay told her with a sly smile. "I look out for my friends though. I'm sorta the big brother of the group."

"Don't you try to steal hall passes for yourself though?" Carlos spoke up.

"Shuddap, she doesn't need to know that." Jay narrowed his eyes.

Felicity chuckled a bit at that. She could see that despite their tendency to bicker, there was much camaraderie between this little group.

"I'm glad you decided to come to school," Mal said to Felicity. "You seem pretty interesting. I can tell we share that in common."

"You seem interesting too, uh, Mel?" Felicity replied.

"...It's _Mal_..." The girl corrected. "But it's cool."

"Hey, did you guys hear about what happened last night?" Jay asked. "They say some bat-like creature came to town and did up some robbers."

"Seriously? I heard he took on some of the mutants at the arcade," Carlos replied. "Tossed one of 'em right into the neon sign!"

"Whatever or whoever that was, it sure was something else." Evie spoke up.

"Did you hear about that, Felicity?" Mal asked their new friend who looked a bit thoughtful.

"Uh... Well... I was with my brother and sister last night while my parents were busy," Felicity shrugged as a brunette girl walked by with two blonde girls who looked identical. "I put on a movie for all of us. I don't like to watch the news, it usually depresses me."

"Sorta funny that you wouldn't like to be depressed when you're alone and gloomy all the time." The brunette girl smirked at Felicity.

"I don't recall asking for _your_ opinion, Audrey." Mal remarked.

"This is an A-B conversation," added Evie. "So C your way out of it."

"Shame you feel that way and I was about to suggest a party for all of us." Audrey smirked.

"A party?" Felicity asked. "What about that dance?"

"It's gotta be postponed," Audrey rolled her eyes. "For whatever reason, but... I was suggesting a special house party for all of us to go to. Even you guys, even if you're low on the high school social food chain."

"How do we know this isn't some trick to humiliate us?" asked Jay, narrowing his eyes.

"Why not?" Audrey smirked. "Would I do something like that?"

"Yes." Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos replied without having to think about it.

"Oh, well, if you don't wanna go to a party that'll be great, that's okay," Audrey cooed. "We'd just need a place to go... That person would get lots of popularity and attention."

"...Really?" Felicity asked with wide eyes.

"Oh, for sure," Audrey smirked with her blonde friends. "But if we can't do anything for the party, we might have to forget about it."

"Uh, wait, Audrey!" Felicity cried out. "My parents are extra busy lately, so we could have the party at my house!"

"Really now?" asked Audrey. "Well then... I suppose you could host it there."

Just then, Felicity was pulled into a group huddle.

"You sure this is a smart idea?" whispered Carlos. "What about your younger sibs?"

"They'll be fine." Felicity replied.

"Flick, can I call ya Flick? You don't seem like the kinda girl who would host a wild teen party," Jay said. "I mean, Mal, sure... 'Cuz she's a total rebel, she's been that way since birth and she takes candy from babies and she spraypaints a lot, and she even--"

"SHE GETS IT!" Mal snapped.

"Erm... The point is, you don't seem like the kinda girl who would do this." Jay said to Felicity.

"What if the guests start breaking stuff and making a mess?" asked Evie. "I've seen plenty of wild teen parties lead to that... And usually whoever's hosting them ends up getting grounded."

"Oh, those are just movies, right?" Felicity replied.

The four groaned a bit as this looked bad for their dear friend.

"Come over for the party," Felicity said to Audrey. "My parents will be nowhere in sight."

"Great," Audrey smirked. "Right, girls?"

"Oh, for sure, Audrey." The left blonde girl replied.

"It'll be the party of the century." The right blonde girl added.

* * *

And so, the three of them walked off, leaving Felicity and her friends in the hallway.

"Felicity, this is not gonna work," Mal groaned. "They're not gonna stick by you if you get busted."

"Yeah, that's usually how it goes," Evie said. "They say they'll be your friend, but they'll flake on you if your parents get angry for the party."

"I tried to crash Evie's sixth birthday party," Mal smiled sheepishly. "It didn't work out very well, but we became best friends anyway."

"But that's besides the point," Carlos added. "Besides, sure, popularity is great for a while, but then everyone starts obsessing over something else and you're dumped like yesterday's lunchmeat."

"Oh, come on, that won't happen to me," Felicity replied. "Now, do you guys wanna help with the party or what?"

The four sighed as they knew how this would end up.

"She's gonna get hurt." Evie told the others.

"We know." Jay, Mal, and Carlos sighed.

"Best we can do is make sure she doesn't fall _too_ hard," Evie replied. "That's the most we can go for as her friends."

"You still wanna be her friend?" Jay asked the others.

"Well... I really want to..." Carlos said softly. "She feels like a sister to me."

"Then we should at least show up," replied Mal. "We owe it to her to stick by her... Even when this inevitably backfires on her."

"Right." The other three agreed to that.

The four then shared a group fist bump while Felicity seemed to be lost in her own little world. She was getting her first taste of what it would be like to be popular... And it was intoxicating, to say the least.

* * *

Back home, Cherry, Lionel, and Thor took turns to clean up around the house before Thor gulped a bit before he seemed to burp out a bubble.

"Thor, did you seriously eat soap?" Cherry rolled her eyes.

"Erm, no... This actually happens to witches when... Something happens..." Thor gulped sheepishly.

"What something?" Cherry asked.

Lionel looked on nervously. "...You know what, this house won't clean itself!" he said, taking a broom and sweeping frantically.

Cherry looked over a bit.

"Why don't you watch a little TV?" Lionel suggested to her.

"It's all the same," Cherry replied. "Everybody's always talking about last night. What's going on with you guys? You've been acting so funny lately."

"FUNNY? Us? No, NEVER!" Lionel replied with a nervous chuckle as sweat began to bead on his forehead.

Cherry narrowed her eyes as she walked off. Lionel and Thor looked to each other a bit nervously.

Cherry came towards her thermostat and clicked it a bit before it opened a secret door as she came down the staircase as the door shut behind her as she came to see a book on The Anatomy of a Witch. "Hmm... Beaks, bubbles, boils..." she then muttered as she flipped through. "Wait... Bubbles! There it is!" she exclaimed as she turned back several pages.

"Uh, Cherry? I'll make that chicken and rice in the oven that you like!" Thor's voice called out.

"A case of bubbles from the diaphragm could be a case of either indigestion, Witchitis, or Stage 1 of--" Cherry was about to read aloud until she was teleported back into the living room. "Hey! What the heck?!"

"Oops... I meant to take out the trash..." Thor said. "Why don't you watch TV while you're there?"

"Nice try, smart guy," Cherry remarked. "But I KNOW you're hiding something from me. And until you two fess up... Then no more fun times under the covers."

"Oh, you wouldn't be that brutal, would you?" Thor shrugged that off.

"Wanna bet?" Cherry raised an eyebrow.

Lionel bit his lip. "...OKAY, OKAY! I'LL TELL, I'LL TELL!" he exclaimed, falling to his knees.

"Lionel, no!" Thor cried out.

"I gotta!" Lionel told her. "For both of our sake's!"

"All right," Cherry said before she took out her personal chair which was like a throne as she sat in it with her legs crossed. "Spill."

"...I got Thor pregnant!" Lionel exclaimed.

Thor cupped his mouth from that.

"You... What...?" Cherry asked, flatly, though her voice was slightly amplified from surprise.

"I had sex with Electra, and it got Thor pregnant!" Lionel explained. "That's why he's been so loopy and burping bubbles all of a sudden!"

Thor looked bashful as she shuffled his foot.

"So... You're pregnant?" Cherry asked Thor.

"Technically, yeah," Thor said bashfully. "I better morph into Electra though by the final trimester, otherwise I'd have to squeeze the baby through my--"

"Okay! I get it!" Cherry replied. "I'm not mad to be honest."

"Ah...." Lionel sighed in relief.

"I'm surprised though, but not angry," Cherry said. "We should probably call Zelda for help."

"Is she even still around?" Thor asked.

"She's an advanced biology professor at the local witch college in The Other Realm," Cherry replied. "It's hard to get in touch with your parents these days."

"Alright then," Lionel replied. "Yo-ho, yo-ho, to the Other Realm we GO!" And with a spin and a snap, they all vanished.

* * *

Zelda was shown to be in a classroom, wearing her glasses with her hair straightened out as she wore a lab coat with college-aged witches and warlocks as they used their magic to help them with their science experiments. "Remember, class, use only two waves of your wands for the chemicals," she then told her class as she walked by to see each of her students. "If you use more than that even if the color doesn't change, it could spell disaster for the classroom. My niece found that out the hard way when she was in high school."

Lionel and the others fell outside the door. "Okay... She looks busy." he replied as he checked in the window.

Thor checked his watch. "Class will probably be over in five minutes." he then said.

"I can't wait any longer." Cherry said as she decided to just go into the classroom.

"This should be interesting..." Lionel said as he propped Thor up.

Thor rubbed his stomach a bit.

"Cherry?!" Zelda gasped.

"Hey, uh, Zelda, could we talk?" Cherry asked the adult witch.

"Erm... I suppose so..." Zelda replied before glancing at her class. "Class, please excuse me for a few minutes."

The class shrugged as Zelda stepped outside.

"So can we talk?" Cherry asked.

"All right... What is it?" Zelda replied.

"Don't freak out." Thor bit his lip.

"Thor, I know I don't look it, but I'm 900-years-old," Zelda replied. "I'm sure whatever you have to tell me, I would have seen before."

"Great... **BECAUSE I GOT HIM PREGNANT!** " Lionel exclaimed.

At that, Zelda foamed at the mouth and fainted.

"Great... You broke her..." Thor said.

* * *

They soon came to the old Victorian house as Zelda groaned a bit while sitting on her bed. "What happened?" she asked wearily.

"You fainted after Lionel told you I was pregnant with his baby... Then you fainted again, so we told you again, then you fainted again, then we brought you home so you'd hopefully cope with what we told you." Thor explained.

Zelda was about to faint again, but she stopped herself.

"Phew..." The three younger adults sighed in relief that Zelda didn't faint that time.

"Okay, so... This hasn't happened to you three before?" Zelda asked.

"Not really," Cherry replied. "I've taken care of the babies for that. Thor let me birth Felicity, then Lionel let me birth LJ and Zofia, but... Now Thor's pregnant."

"That's strange, even by Supernatural Realm standards..." Zelda had to admit. "I mean... You sort of need a sperm and an egg for procreation to work properly."

"Well... Let's say I have that covered," Lionel replied. "Okay, Thor... You know what to do."

Thor took a deep breath and he soon twirled around a bit before he became Electra.

"Ohh... I see now..." Zelda realized.

"Yup," Lionel nodded. "One thing led to another."

"Hmm..." Zelda replied. "I guess Lionel really helped out your temporary body. When was the last time you... Uh... Were intimate?"

"For Lionel's birthday," Electra smiled sheepishly. "Cherry decided to take the kids out for the day, so I thought I'd cheer up Lionel a bit as he seemed a little down, so I gave him a special show with a fireman pole for his birthday as Electra."

Lionel chuckled. "Best birthday ever," he replied. "I still remember it like it was yesterday."

"Please spare me the details," Zelda groaned a bit with a palm to her face. "My biggest recommendation is to maybe stay as Electra when it comes closer to the due date," she then advised. "I'd hate to imagine a young warlock going through the miracle of birth."

"Relax," Lionel replied. "You don't actually see the flashback, I see it, the viewers see it, and so on."

"I'm happy for you all though," Zelda told them. "We all are, especially Drell and Hilda."

"I'm surprised that Drell gave us his blessing," Cherry replied. "I thought for sure he'd make fun of me."

"Guess he didn't want to," replied Lionel. "And I guess I can have my flashback later..."

"No offense, but I don't want to see that." Zelda smiled sheepishly.

"Fair enough," Cherry replied. "We'll see you later though. Thanks for your advice."

"Also, you should borrow this," Zelda said as she gave a baby book. "We had this for Edward when Diana got pregnant."

"Ah..." Lionel nodded, taking the book. "And like I told you, you don't see the flashback, only I and the viewers do. Weren't you listening?"

"I was, I was just being clear," Zelda rolled her eyes. "Drell and Hilda don't spare me sometimes, even when I beg them not to."

"Oh... My apologies," replied Lionel. "Sorry you had to deal with that. Catch you later!"

"Come by again someday," Zelda smiled. "We love your company."

The three left as they decided to go back home.

* * *

"All right, now we know what to do," Cherry said. "Electra, you'll have to help watch the kids until you have to stay in bed and off your feet."

"I am not looking forward to that," Electra sighed. "I hate getting bloated up like a Thanksgiving turkey."

"Maybe your physiology will prevent that?" suggested Lionel.

"Hard to say," Electra replied. "I'm keeping the baby either way."

"And it'll give LJ a chance to be a big brother," Cherry added. "Being a little brother with two big sisters really gets to him sometimes."

"For sure," Lionel agreed. "We're gonna stick by you in your time of need, and hopefully nothing happens to injure the little tyke for the next nine months."

"I hope so too," Electra replied as she changed back into Thor. "Just get ready for a switch whenever possible."

"We'll keep in touch," Cherry said. "We'll also tell the kids later when we find a good time to tell them."

"Aye," Lionel agreed as he slumped down onto the bed. "Maybe I'll have the flashback later. I'm kinda bushed, actually."

Thor chuckled a little from that.

"Come on then." Cherry suggested.

"Okay." Lionel replied.

Cherry cleaned up a bit as Thor helped Lionel get comfortable.

"Aww... Poor baby's tuckered himself out~" Thor cooed playfully.

Lionel said nothing, only blushing visibly as he climbed under the covers and made himself comfortable between the sheets. Thor chuckled a bit as he walked off with Cherry to get clean up with her so that Lionel could rest. Lionel began to doze off as he had his flashback in the form of a dream sequence.

* * *

_Apparently Lionel's birthday had been a few weeks ago before he and the others had joined Batman in his re-ignited crusade against crime. "Oh-kay! 45th birthday..." he said to himself. "Wonder what my amazing family has planned for me this year? I bet it'll be awesome!"_

_"Okay, kids, wanna help Mama get special gifts for Daddy/Uncle Lionel?" Cherry asked._

_The kids all cheered from that, even Felicity who looked happier than she did before her fight at school which, more or less, ruined her life._

_"Shh~" Cherry shushed them as she saw Lionel come by. "Ah, Lionel... We gotta run to the store for a little bit. Why don't you watch some TV with Thor?" she then asked._

_"Well, alright," Lionel replied as he made his way to the living room._

* * *

_Naturally, Thor was sitting on the couch, and Lionel decided to join him on it. "Hey there." he said, giving the smaller man a small smile._

_"Hey, yourself," Lionel replied. "Whatcha watching?"_

_"Just some Jerry Springer," Thor replied as he crossed his legs. "Nothing else really on at this hour, but I did have a little treat for ya that might be a lot more entertaining."_

_"Yeah?" asked Lionel. "Go for it."_

_"Well... Okay... Come with me to the spare room though..." Thor said._

_Lionel shrugged as he followed Thor there and sat on the bed._

_Thor took out a boombox, then rolled in what looked like a fireman pole. "It is time for you to be entertained for your special day," he then said. "Thornton Moltenscar will not be here for that, but instead..." he said as he soon became Electra for the "special show". "The role tonight will be played by Electra~"_

_Lionel's face soon became entirely red with shock, and his jaw dropped with a KLANG!_

_Electra took out a sexy firewoman outfit as she turned on the boombox to play a song called "Fire" by the Ohio Players. "Happy Birthday~" she then giggled as she began to do a pole dance for Lionel for his special day._

_Lionel pulled up his jaw, then let off a wolf-whistle. "AWOOOOOOOO~!" he let out a happy howl as he pounded on a table and konked himself over the head with a mallet._

_Electra giggled a little before she dangled upside down from the pole while waving at him. Lionel waved back with a sheepish smile. Electra soon took out a firehose and danced with it next before she backed up with her back to him as she decided to give him a little lapdance and sprayed both of them with the hose. Lionel's entire body went bright red at that, and he couldn't help but smile at it._

_"Fiiiiyaaaah~" Electra giggled with the song before it ended._

_Lionel clapped like a seal, even with barking sounds. "Baby...you're the greatest!" he exclaimed, doing an impression of Ralph Kramden of " **The Honeymooners** " (if you don't know what that is, look it up, people; it inspired **The Flintstones** )._

_"Bam! Zoom! And to the moon!" Electra beamed as she hugged Lionel after the dance was over._

_"That was... Amazing!" Lionel grinned._

_"Wanna celebrate for the aftershow?" Electra offered as she climbed onto the bed, almost like a delicate gazelle._

_"You better believe I do!" Lionel exclaimed as he climbed on with her._

_"The kids will be back in a few hours, so we should have plenty of time." Electra smirked before they began to make love together._

_"Sounds good to me..." Lionel replied as he got into it._

* * *

Outside of Lionel's mind, he chuckled at the memory which seemed to play out like a movie before his eyes. Cherry and Thor watched Lionel sleep soundly.

"Electra's birthday present?" Cherry guessed.

"Possibly." Thor smirked.

"Makes sense to me." Cherry replied.

"That would explain the tent in the sheets." Thor pointed out.

"I'm surprised you know that metaphor." Cherry smirked.

"I'm smarter than I look," Thor smirked back. "Probably not as smart as you or Atticus, but still pretty smart."

"Yeah, you're right." Cherry replied as she walked off.

* * *

Eventually, Lionel had finished his nap and was fully-energized once more. "Ah... That was nice," he said. "Okay, what's tonight's mission?"

"Well, a big priority so far is that Batman can meet up with Commissioner Gordon." Cherry said as she took a message from the phone earlier while Lionel was asleep.

"Really? What for?" Lionel asked.

"Batman said he found something... More or less, the bad side of nostalgia..." Cherry replied.

"Well then... Let's pop on over and give him a hand again," Lionel suggested. "Once we suit up again."

"It just looks like it's officially time for the Dark Knight's comeback... After retirement for a while..." Cherry said. "I'm worried though, with his old age and these escapades... He might kill himself or something."

"Yeah, it worries me too," Thor agreed. "He's not as young as he used to be."

"Hey, he could never resist the call to action," replied Lionel. "And besides, he'd naturally want to go down protecting the city that he loves, to ensure a better tomorrow."

"Yeah..." Cherry sighed. "He's been doing that since I met him... Also how he got pretty protective of me when I became his goddaughter after the very first time I came to meet him before the Justice League was official since Atticus met Superman before getting adopted by him."

"And naturally, he'd be glad that someone was acting as a symbol of hope if he were to fall," added Lionel. "That's why we're going to eventually have to train Terry for when he and the others eventually join The Legion of Super-Heroes."

"Oh, for sure," Thor said as he decided to get a cookie from the batch he baked the other day and bit into it. "Just wait, Cherry, there'll be a bright future for all of us."

"Hmm... All right..." Cherry replied. "I just hope you're both right. I worry about Bruce like he was my own father."

"As do I," replied Lionel. "Though he'd naturally prefer going out in a blaze of glory to an entirely mundane, boring life. Besides, Bruce Wayne is the façade; Batman is the true self. After all, we all wear masks, but which one is real: the one that hides your face, or the one that IS your face?"

"You should work at a fortune cookie factory." Thor said as he felt amazed by what was just said.

"I guess I never thought of it that way myself," Cherry added thoughtfully. "Gosh..."

"Yeah, think about it: Bruce Wayne, in a way, died on the night his parents were killed in Crime Alley," Lionel replied. "After that, he was merely a skin worn by Batman, so to speak."

"...Yeah..." Cherry had to admit. "He never really had a chance to be a normal person."

"Who even is normal anymore?" Thor spoke up.

"Oh, you know what I mean," Cherry told him. "But yeah... Bruce Wayne is also just as mysterious as Batman. At least at those parties he would go to or host for people to come over."

"Yeah, but that's usually to save face," explained Lionel. "After he took out the Joker to avenge Jason, that pretty much scared Joker into a coma and drove crime rates down. And with less crime, less need for Batman."

"So that's why he sorta snapped into coming back... Along with us..." Cherry said. "It all makes sense now. Wow, I feel like I'm in Atticus's detective office right now."

"Well, we'd best go join Bats," decided Lionel. "He could use our help."

"All right, but first, some sandwiches." Thor suggested as he took out a platter.

"What is with you and freakin' sandwiches?" Cherry mumbled, halfway quoting from her favorite adult Christmas movie.

"They're very easy and fast for me to take." Thor smiled bashfully.

"Solid point." replied Lionel as he wrote a note for Felicity, LJ and Zofia, then put it on the wall. He then helped himself to a sandwich.

Cherry took her own sandwich and bit into it as she took out her costume.

"Those cats seemed to like you earlier..." Thor said. "Ya think it's the outfit?"

"I'm not sure..." Cherry shrugged. "I guess they know that I'm part of Selina's kin."

"Only explanation that makes sense," said Lionel as he poofed everyone into their outfits. "And now... Let's get moving."

They soon bolted off after putting the sandwich plate in the sink. As they seemed to leave, the Bat-Signal seemed to shine out the window which was like a sign for them as well.


	6. Chapter 6

Felicity watched as her parents soon left to begin their work. "Ah... Good, they've left," she sighed. "Now to begin preparations."

"What are you doing?" Zofia asked her big sister as she walked by.

"Big kid stuff," Felicity said. "You wouldn't understand."

"How do you know?" Zofia replied. "Maybe we _want_ to understand, but you just never give us a chance to!"

"You're preparing for a party, aren't you?" asked LJ flatly.

"Like I said, it's big kid stuff," Felicity said as she took out a videotape with a purple dinosaur on it. "Here, why don't you watch a movie in the other room and go to bed early?"

"...You're mocking me, aren't you?" LJ asked, fiercely squinting. "One, I am _not_ just some little kid! Two, pretty sure Mom, Dad, and Uncle Thor wouldn't want you to throw a party while they're gone. In fact, I bet $20 somebody destroys something just because it's not their house, so they think they can do whatever they like!"

"LJ... Just let me have this, okay?" Felicity said.

LJ and Zofia both looked disappointed in their sister as she was acting a little selfish.

"Alright, now if I plan correctly, Audrey, Delia, and Deidre should stay long enough for a couple of movies," Felicity said to herself as she took out a couple of video cases. "I rented a romantic comedy and a horror flick. Perfect for a high school party, right?"

"Sure, if it's a small crowd," replied LJ. "This Audrey is probably gonna tell everyone and then they'll all show up. Cuz when the parents are not home, then that's when they bring everybody."

"I just know this is going to backfire," sighed Zofia. "Mother and Father will be livid with fury! They trusted you to make sure nothing went wrong!"

"My guests will be here and back before they even notice!" Felicity told them. "Now go to your room so I can have my party!"

"Flick--" LJ and Zofia tried.

"Don't 'Flick' me!" Felicity told them. "Get out of my way so I can have my party with my friends!"

LJ and Zofia cringed as they walked off away from their older sister.

"Fine..." LJ scoffed. "She doesn't want to listen to reason? She can learn the hard way."

"I've never seen her act this way before," Zofia sighed. "She must be having adolescence again."

* * *

Felicity soon brought out a lot of soda, ordered for several pizzas, and set the living room up for the party.

"I sure hope I don't get like that when I get there," sighed LJ. "Or you, either. It's like she's been replaced by some sort of evil clone!"

"We have to save our sister somehow," Zofia said to him. "I'm not sure how or when, but we should find some way to cure her. It looks like being a teenager has spread virally to her and the others like some sort of illogical pathological disease!"

"Then we need to use something that teenagers hate..." replied LJ. "But what?"

"Pimples?" Zofia tried out.

"Nah, that would take too long," LJ replied. "Anything else?"

"Hmm... Surprise tests?" Zofia tried again.

"...Nah, we'd never be able to pass ourselves off as teachers," replied LJ. "Let alone come up with convincing questions."

Zofia sighed a bit. "I dunno, Brother..." she said with defeat. "I guess I'm not smart enough to figure out how to scare off a teenager."

LJ sighed until something caught his eye. "...Or we _could_ just read from Felicity's math textbook," he suggested.

"Pardon...?" Zofia asked. "What are you saying, we conduct a 'Mathosist'?" she then asked, trying to combine Math with The Exorcist.

"I guess so," LJ replied. "Not like we have many better ideas."

"It'll do," Zofia said. "We'll let Flick have her little party... But it'll all be over soon..."

The two laughed a bit like evil geniuses while Felicity waited for her guests to show up.

* * *

"Perfect," Felicity smiled at the spread. "Now I just gotta wait for 'em."

First came Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos.

"So you're _really_ sure that you want to go through with this, huh?" asked Mal.

"Of _course_ I'm sure," replied Felicity. "This will be my ticket to the big time!"

"Just don't forget who your real friends are." Carlos told.

"Yeah, sure, come on, guys," Felicity told them. "Make yourselves at home."

"Sweet place," Jay smirked as he saw a lot of valuables. "My house would look like a palace with all these nifty toys."

"Jayden, heel." Mal told him.

"Besides... My father has all of our belongings electrified if they leave the premises," explained Felicity. "Needless to say, we haven't had a single burglary here."

Jay looked like he was about to test that.

"No! No!" Mal scolded him as she shook her head. "I'd believe her."

"Well, okay..." Jay shrugged from that.

"Nice looking home," Evie smiled at Felicity. "My mom calls our place a mansion, but it's anything but."

"Yeah, it's real small..." Mal added from that. "Bigger than my place, but still small. At least my place has a balcony."

"Thank you." Felicity replied.

"Expansive, isn't it, Dee Dee?" asked a voice.

"I've seen worse, Dee Dee." replied an identical voice.

"So... This is party central," said Audrey. "Not bad... I guess."

"Audrey, you made it, along with your friends." Felicity said.

"Yes, the Dennis twins," Audrey introduced. "Delia and Deidre."

"Oh... Um... Good to meet... You..." Felicity said as she was unsure which was which.

"Charmed..." began Delia.

"...I'm sure." concluded Deidre as she and her sister stepped inside.

"Um... Right..." Felicity said as the twins followed Audrey inside.

"Aw, great, it's the Queen of Mean and her Clones." Mal grumbled to Evie, Jay, and Carlos.

"Well... This should be fun," Jay sighed. "Like a root canal without anesthesia."

Carlos grimaced a bit from that.

"We need some make-up," Audrey told her friends. "Oh, Jane?~"

A plucky brown-haired girl rushed over with a make-up kit.

Carlos looked at her with a gasp like she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

"Sorry, Audrey... Here you go, uh, Dee Dee..." The plain girl named Jane said softly as she came to help them with their make-up.

Carlos' face went bright-red with surprise, as he watched Jane at work; there was something... Majestic about her, that much he knew.

"Hey... Aren't you the headmistress's daughter?" Felicity asked Jane.

"Huh? Oh, uh, yes, I am..." Jane smiled bashfully. "I can't stay too long. My mother is crazy about curfews."

Audrey and the Dennis twins hid eye rolls from that.

"Okay, where's the party at?" asked Chad, a smug-looking upperclassman who'd just shown up with his buddies.

"Yeah, where's the party at?" A bandanna wearing blonde boy added beside Chad.

"Let's drop anchor right here, boys!" A black-haired boy who tried to sound like a pirate smirked. "YAR-HAR-HAR-HAR!"

"Charles C. Charleston III 'AKA' Chad is here... He's probably the most popular boy in school..." Felicity whispered to herself from the shock.

"Not to mention his cronies: Gil and Harry..." Evie rolled her eyes.

Soon, lots of people had begun pouring into the Schwartz house.

"Hey, Claudine. Good to see ya, Ginny. Great party, huh, Freddie?" Felicity greeted as she walked by various guests.

"Now?" LJ asked Zofia.

"Not just yet..." Zofia replied.

* * *

**_Meanwhile, up on a rooftop..._ **

"Two helicopters stolen last night," Gordon told the three with him as he shared some photographs with them. "One a state-of-the-art attack chopper, the other an old army surplus job. Got to be Two-Face."

"His lackey didn't know much," replied Batman. "Just that whatever Dent's planning, it goes down tomorrow night."

"Sure. It's Tuesday and the second of the month." explained Gordon. "And that Two-Face said it would be twice as big as anyone can imagine. He's also re-wrapped his face in bandages. Not letting anyone see him."

"Why?" asked Gordon. "What did he do to himself? You don't suppose he...?

"Maybe. He's scratching both sides now." said Batman, holding up a scratched coin. "As if he's become consumed by his dark side."

Gordon took a look at the coin as it was flicked over to him.

"Guess that explains the small nostalgia." Catwoman II remarked as they heard from Two-Face again.

"I wouldn't rule out that he's hurting himself." Gordon told them.

"It must have been impossible to resist the compulsion." Batman replied.

"We still talking about Dent?" Gordon asked from that.

Batman gave him a stoic look in response.

"You know you can't just bring in Harvey and be done with it. It's bigger than that now," Gordon warned. "You've already ruffled--"

"The Mutants," Voltage spoke up. "They're next our my list, but first things first."

"A target that needs two helicopters, that's twice as big as anyone can..." Batman added.

They soon looked to each other before they saw where the signal was shining on which seemed to be their next answer.

"The Gotham Life Building..." Gordon said to the others.

"Talk about plain sight..." Bat-Mite muttered.

"Tell me about it." Voltage rolled his eyes slightly.

"Let's go." Batman told the three of them.

"Erm... Yes..." Catwoman II replied as more cats came by her feet. "Shoo! Shoo, cats, shoo!"

The cats quickly dispersed and left.

"Sorry about that, guys." Catwoman II said bashfully.

Batman shook his head slightly before they scoped towards the building beside them.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at home, the party was kicking into full swing, and there were hundreds of guests inside. Felicity smiled as she seemed to love the attention.

"Hey, drink this." Gil said as he gave a cup to Felicity.

"Oh, cool, I love tea," Felicity said as she took the cup to drink it before her eyes widened as something weird happened to her. "Oof... That's not tea..."

"It's time." LJ replied as he got the math book and was dressed in ceremonial robes.

Zofia did a bit of a religious gesture from that. Felicity stumbled a bit as she came to sit on the couch with Mal.

"Some party, Flick." Mal grumbled.

"Ah, you know it's good..." Felicity slurred in her speech.

"Kill the music!" LJ said as he put on a helmet with a voice modulator.

Zofia nodded and flipped a switch, killing the music.

"Heeey... What happened to the music?" Felicity asked.

"I think someone shut it off." Gil stated a bit dumbly.

"No kidding..." Deidre and Delia deadpanned in unison.

" **REPENT, FIENDS, FOR SALVATION IS AT HAND!** " LJ boomed in an impression of a televangelist preacher. He then opened the book. "The Pythagorean theorem, also known as Pythagoras' theorem, is a fundamental relation in Euclidean geometry among the three sides of a right triangle. It states that the area of the square whose side is the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) is equal to the sum of the areas of the squares on the other two sides. This theorem can be written as an equation relating the lengths of the sides A, B, and C, often called the 'Pythagorean equation': where C represents the length of the hypotenuse and a and b the lengths of the triangle's other two sides. The theorem, whose history is the subject of much debate, is named for the ancient Greek thinker Pythagoras!'" he read out loud.

"What the heck is that?!" Audrey complained. "Felicity, is this a party or some boring lecture hall?!"

"My insides are on fire." Felicity mumbled groggily.

"Oh, crap, you're drunk, aren't you?" asked Carlos. "Chad, you dumbass! What the hell did you do to her?!"

"I didn't do anything, Skunk Head," Chad rolled his eyes. "Besides, it's just a little booze that Gil got from his dad."

"YOU GAVE HER BOOZE?!" Carlos shouted, louder than he'd ever been before; in a fit of anger, he lunged at Chad and began wringing his neck.

Chad yelled out from that. "Get off of me, you peasant!"

"Whoa! Carlos! Jeez..." Jay winced a bit.

"I've never seen him act like that before..." Evie said as she backed up a bit worriedly. "Should we be concerned?"

"No, why?" asked Jay. "Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy."

"You think you're better than us?! You think you can just boss us around?!" Carlos snapped as he shook Chad around like a rag doll. "Well, FORGET IT! This time, the dog bites back!"

* * *

And all the while, LJ continued reading from the math book and Zofia would blast some of the teenagers with a super soaker full of holy water... Which was actually tap water with some vinegar and olive oil mixed in. Some of the teenagers hissed from that.

"What the heck was that?!" Ginny complained. "This is gonna mess with my frizzy hair!"

" _Your_ hair?!" Claudine glared at her. "My father's gonna throw a fit and make me pray for forgiveness over my best clothes being ruined like this!"

"Begone, evil spirits!" Zofia called out as she helped LJ.

"The Power of MATH compels you!" LJ boomed. "The Power of MATH compels you!! Get thee behind me, demons!!"

"Demons?!" Claudine glared. "My father says I'm a child of God!"

"Okay, don't have to bring religion into this," Mal grinned sheepishly. "Seriously, what the heck is going on here?"

"Yeah... What're you doing?!" Felicity called out to her siblings.

"Felicity, we have to stop this party before it gets too out of control." Zofia warned her older sister.

"It was fine until you ruined it!" Felicity glared, though her left eye seemed to bulge. "Get outta my party before I ground you all until the dinosaurs come back."

"Relax!" said Jace as he and Harry picked up LJ. "Arry an' I will 'andle the little pipsqueak!"

"Hey, lemme go, you mooks!" LJ grunted, trying to break free from their grasps.

"Quite a biter, ain't he, Jace?" Harry asked his cousin.

"Oh, for sure, but we got 'im." Jace chuckled.

"Let go of my brother!" Zofia glared as she kicked them both.

"Ow! Feisty!" The Badun cousins glared back at her.

"I'll go between the legs if you cross me enough!" Zofia threatened.

"Alright, fine," LJ said calmly as he got to his feet and brushed himself off. "We know when to go, but when this gets out of control? Just remember: we gave you a chance to reconsider before it was too late." And he furiously stomped up the stairs before slamming his door shut.

Zofia winced a bit from that before looking all around. "Felicity, this party is too crazy..." she said. "You should tell everybody to clean up or at least leave so we can clean up before the adults get home."

"Piss off, Shorty." Felicity slurred out.

Zofia's eyes grew wide before she glared from that. "So it's gonna be like that, huh? Well, good luck cleaning up this mess with your so-called friends who haven't already left yet!" she then retorted as she decided to go to her room as well. "I can't believe I used to look up to you!"

* * *

"Yeee-haaaaw!" yelled Deidre as she began throwing plates like frisbee disks. 

One-by-one, they crashed into the wall, shattering.

"Uh-oh, should we clean that up?" asked Harry.

Delia scoffed. "Why? Not our house," she replied. "And not our problem."

"Okay, cut it out." Mal glared.

"Why?" Audrey smirked. "It's not our house. It's not like you're above property damage anyway, Mal~"

"You don't know anything about me." Mal growled from that.

"Here I come!" Gil shouted as he took up one of the family portraits and began sliding down the banister, using it as a surfboard. Before he hit bottom, he leapt off; the portrait wasn't so lucky, and it smashed into the wall, cracking in half.

The teenagers cheered as they kept on partying and causing lots and lots of damage to the house and its possessions.

"Felicity, they're ruining your house!" Jay cried out. "...It seems like something I would do, but this is not cool!"

"But we're all friends here..." Felicity said, still a bit groggy. "They'll help out. You'll see."

"Felicity, they're using you," Jay sighed as he took the big brother role around her. "I'm just trying to look out for you."

"...Get a haircut, you look like a girl." Felicity said to him, a bit grumbly.

Jay gasped. "...Low blow, Felicity..." he said, hurt. "Low blow."

The party went on for a few more hours after that.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm out of here." Jay told Mal, Evie, and Carlos.

"You can't leave back home, because I'm going too." Evie said.

"Same here," Mal added. "Felicity's parents are gonna have a whole slaughterhouse of cows over this mess."

"But... I thought we promised to be there for Felicity, no matter what?" asked Carlos.

"That was before she decided to ditch us for The Snob Squad." Mal replied.

Carlos looked to them before looking over at Felicity.

"Face it, dude," Jay told Carlos. "Felicity changed. We better get out of here."

Carlos looked a little upset to leave Felicity, but the four all decided to go as Felicity seemed to be doing Jell-O shots right now, but naturally, like most things, it wouldn't last for very long, since Cherry, Lionel, and Thor were pulling into the driveway.

"Good thing we left when we did," said Evie. "Looks like her parents are home."

"I feel bad that we left her," Carlos said. "We're her friends."

"Yeah, well, I'm not so sure if we are anymore." Mal said as she almost sounded like she had hurt feelings.

* * *

The door burst open, and Lionel, Thor, and Cherry stood in the doorway. The party ground to a halt at that.

" **AAAAAAAAAALRIGHT!"** Lionel shouted, his eyes alight with flame. " **EVERYONE WHO DOESN'T LIVE HERE, GET THE HELL OUT BEFORE I CALL YOUR PARENTS!** "

The kids all looked a bit terrified as they decided to go. Felicity tried to blend in with the crowd.

"And where do you think you are going?" Thor asked as he grabbed a hold of Felicity's collar to pull her back. "I think we have to have a talk, young lady."

"I thought you guys would be back later..." Felicity said, a bit groggily.

"Phew!" Thor gasped as he waved the air in front of his face. "Why do you smell like a liquor bar?"

"Because she was drinking," replied Lionel as he checked the security camera records. "Not to mention THIS..." He played the footage of Felicity lashing out at her younger siblings for both of them to see.

Thor looked a bit firm towards Felicity.

"We are very disappointed." Cherry told their daughter.

"But I was just having some fun!" Felicity told them. "You were all young once!"

"Oh, so you consider destroying property fun?" replied Lionel. "You consider yelling at your siblings and insulting your friends fun?"

"I'm fine... I just... I just..." Felicity glared before she cupped her mouth.

"You just... Just... Just... Spit it out!" Cherry glared back firmly.

Felicity soon threw up on her mother before she fell flat on the floor.

"Classy..." Cherry muttered. "Boys, help me clean up and get her to bed, if you please."

Lionel sighed and snapped his fingers, cleaning Cherry up, and another snap to get Felicity to her bedroom. "...You two go to our room..." he told them. "I'll meet you up there shortly."

"You sure you wanna handle this?" Cherry asked as she rubbed her eyes a bit.

"Yeah... I'm not afraid to get firm, though my body is as soft as a marshmallow." Thor added.

"Look, you two get some shut-eye," said Lionel. "Once Felicity is back to herself, I'll personally settle it in the morning. Fortunately, it's a weekend."

Cherry and Thor looked at one another, and headed up the stairs.


	7. Chapter 7

Eventually, the night gave way to the next morning, and Zofia made her way to the couch with a bowl of cereal to watch TV at 10:30. LJ, however, didn't feel like coming down. Cherry and Thor cuddled a bit through the night before they woke up in each other's arms.

"Why you so snuggly?" Cherry asked.

"I was born that way," Thor smirked before looking over at Lionel. "I'm not sure if he'll be up to snuggling though."

Lionel grumbled to himself as he got up and shuffled downstairs. A little while later, Felicity came out of her room and went to the restroom; LJ was inside, brushing his teeth.

Zofia looked over as she watched TV on the couch. "Good morning, Father." she greeted softly.

"...Morning, Zo." Lionel replied with a tired smile as he came into the living room.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the restroom, LJ glared daggers at his eldest sister. "...What is it you want?" he asked gruffly.

"Whatya think?" Felicity replied grumpily as they were in the bathroom. "Ugh... I feel like I just got smashed in the head with an anvil."

"After what happened last night?" LJ replied. "Being hit with an anvil would be a _much_ nicer fate, considering what you did to us. It hurt me, sure, but it hurt Zofia even more."

"I just have one question..." Felicity said.

"...Okay, what?" LJ shrugged as he decided to humor her.

"What exactly _happened_ last night?" Felicity asked.

"You really don't remember, huh?" LJ asked with a dry chuckle. "Where to start, where to start? First, you threw a wild party, the teenagers destroyed half the place, then Chad and his cronies got you drunk, you lashed out at us and told Zofia to her face to piss off, and then you basically insulted your own friends. And for what? A bunch of snobby jerks who couldn't care less about what happens to you?"

"What...? I got drunk?" Felicity gasped. "But... I don't do that... I'm not even old enough to drink."

"You really have no idea what happened...?" LJ asked.

"I remember Audrey coming with the Dennis twins... Not much of anything else after that..." Felicity said wearily.

"Then Chad and his friends showed up and tricked you into drinking booze," LJ explained. "Zofia and I tried to get the teenagers to leave, but then you flipped out cuz your party was more important than keeping the house undamaged. You basically said to get lost or else you'd ground us until the dinosaurs came back, and when Zofia tried to reason with you, you just told her, 'piss off, shorty'. And then Zofia said something to the extent of 'I can't believe I used to look up to you', and then ran off. Long story short, Dad was absolutely LIVID. I never saw him so angry before!"

"Ugh... My head..." Felicity groaned. "That doesn't sound like me at all."

"Tell me about it," LJ said. "It was like when your popular peers showed up, you felt some sort of bad pressure around them."

"I think Mother warned us about this..." Felicity sighed. "What's happened to me?"

"You got hooked on being popular, and you damaged your friendships," LJ replied. "I told you this would happen, but you didn't listen. So now you have to pay the price for it."

"Well, it's not like I'm gonna do that again, right?" Felicity shrugged. "I'm sorry about what I did though."

"I'm sure you are," LJ replied. "Though I doubt Zofia will be as willing to accept your apology. And considering how many people you let trash the place? I'm no math genius, but I reckon that adds up to bein' grounded for two months."

"Oh, it can't be that bad, right?" Felicity asked.

* * *

**_And so..._ **

"Two months?!" Felicity asked.

"I'm sorry, kiddo, but I can't be the fun parent all the time." Thor said as he tried to sound mature.

"Exactly!" Lionel replied. "Besides, you didn't do anything to stop it. You took our trust, and you just stomped on it... Stomped it until it was broken. Broken, like my comic book collection AND my ceramic Batman statue!"

"I'm sorry..." Felicity said with a shallow voice.

"Sorry doesn't cut it I'm afraid," Cherry said. "You're gonna have to pay us back somehow. We love you, but we're very angry and disappointed, you were always mature for your age, even after your brother and sister were born."

"Can't we just fix it with a special way?" Felicity asked. "Can't we make this all go away like nothing happened? We might all laugh about this someday."

"Why would we laugh about this?!" Lionel asked. "This is _not_ something to laugh about! The things those teenagers broke are irreplaceable, and if we just 'made it all go away like nothing happened', then you wouldn't learn anything from this experience. Not to mention, Zofia is still pissed at you."

"You are confined to your room," Cherry said. "No leaving the house except for school with no friends over and your chores will be doubled."

"And you have to get a job!" Thor added.

"A job...?" Cherry looked at him funny.

"...I dunno," Thor shrugged. "I see it in a lot of sitcoms."

"Okay, never mind that last bit," said Lionel. "But you _will_ have to make amends with your siblings; hopefully you haven't completely burnt the bridges between the lot of you."

"I am so very sorry..." Felicity told the adults.

"Don't just apologize to us." Cherry reminded.

"Yes, ma'am." Felicity replied.

"Honestly, we're not even sure we can leave you in charge whenever we head out for the night," Lionel replied. "Might need to ask one of our old friends to look after you three."

"What?!" Felicity yelped.

"That might be best." Thor agreed with Lionel.

"Hey, don't look at me, you're the one who decided to have a wild party while we wuz out," Lionel told Felicity. "What's to say it won't happen again? Unless we can leave them with someone... Maybe Mo and Atticus would be willing to help?"

"That could work," Cherry said. "Atticus was always the responsible one when we were kids."

"I heard he has kids of his own," Lionel replied. "Might be nice for LJ and Zo to make friends with them, considering, well..." he took out a remote and played the video footage of what happened. "See for yourself, in case you don't believe it."

Felicity shuddered a bit from that.

"Let's check it out... Just to be safe..." Cherry said as she took a look with Thor.

"See? Riiiiiight there," Lionel told Felicity, showing her the screen where Zofia lost all faith in her older sister. "You can actually pinpoint the second her poor little heart snaps in half. Though I will admit the math exorcist thing was pretty funny."

"LJ always had your sense of humor," Cherry hid a smirk. "I guess there was always a reason I thought naming him after you would be a good fit. Either that or David."

Felicity looked a bit terrified and overwhelmed with the video footage as she watched her little sister's trust be shattered like Lionel's ceramic Batman's statue.

"After Larry David, the co-creator of _Seinfeld_?" Lionel replied. "Unexpected, but hey... Maybe for the next one."

"Eh, I just always liked the name David." Cherry shrugged.

"And if it's a girl?" Lionel asked.

Cherry shrugged again. "Roseanne?"

"How about Kiki?" Thor smiled. "I like the name Kiki. You never hear the name Kiki anymore."

"Say 'Kiki' one more time..." Cherry said a bit firmly.

"Kiki...?" Thor blinked.

* * *

Soon, everybody left the room, though Thor had a bit of a black eye now.

"I brought that out on myself, besides, I'll heal instantly." Thor said as he held his eye.

"Besides, what would we call her when she got older?" Lionel replied. "Whatever, I'll go call Atticus and explain things."

And so he exited, leaving Felicity to bear witness to the awful things she did last night.

"I take it you've seen your actions, right?" LJ asked as he and Zofia had come over.

"Gah!" Felicity squeaked.

"Hello." Zofia said.

"...Hi." Felicity said to her younger siblings.

"What a performance," LJ remarked. "Can't say I'd like an encore, though. Looks like you owe us."

"What do you mean?" asked Felicity.

"I bet $20 that they'd destroy property," replied LJ. "They destroyed the ceramic statue, some plates, and one of our family portraits... So yeah."

Felicity looked over with a whimpering pout a bit before she came to get her wallet. "Excuse me a minute." she said softly.

"I'm still barely talking to you!" Zofia scolded.

"I deserve that." Felicity sighed.

"Good. Glad we're on the same page," LJ replied. "Cuz if you EVER want us to be on good terms again, then you'll have to prove it. Otherwise, we'll be younger siblings who hate our older sibling."

"You would hate me?" Felicity asked as that hurt her.

"That pain you feel? That's how I felt when you told me to piss off." Zofia said.

Felicity let out a small frown from that.

"At this point, it's a mild dislike," LJ replied. "I suggest you do what you can to decrease it down to a 'tolerate being around you'."

Felicity let out a small sigh. "Of course."

Zofia nodded from that. "I'd flip you off to show an edgy side, but that feels more childish than trying to seem... Adult compared to what was once for children..." she then said.

"Well, I appreciate that at least." Felicity said softly.

"...I think I'll head out," LJ replied. "Oh, I forgot to mention: you'll be pretty lucky if you can get your friends to accept your apology, considering how quickly you brushed them aside when you thought you were gonna get to be popular."

Felicity slumped a little.

"I'm just gonna go to my room a little," Zofia said. "Maybe use one of those adult coloring books. They're surprisingly soothing."

"I understand," Felicity said to them. "I think I need to lie down and think about what I've done."

"Yeah, seems like a good idea." LJ replied as he left.

The siblings all split up as the adults were together as they tried to decide what to do with the kids while they also had work to do with Batman.

Cherry's hair seemed to be messed up and she had dark circles under her eyes as she looked a bit exhausted.

Lionel sat down and hugged her gently. "...It feels like our little family has been fractured..." he said, sadly. 

Cherry wasn't looking at him, but he had tears running down his face.

* * *

Later that night, he and the others were with Batman, doing surveillance from atop a gargoyle. Batman cracked his neck as he took out a rifle. Voltage winced a bit from that as it sounded a bit gruesome. Helicopters flew not too far from their height at the height they were in. One helicopter landed above them as they stayed put in the shadows while the other shot an air missile to explode at the building which startled some civilians in the middle of the street. Giant crumbs of debris soon fell down near them which made them run off as the building soon caught on fire. Batman took the rifle and put in a grappling hook implement, which he fired at the building. After hammering down the other end, he rushed across the rope with the others. The bandage-faced man took his gun and started shooting at him, knocking him off the rope.

"Is that a mummy?" Voltage asked.

"Why on Earth would you ask that?" Catwoman II deadpanned.

"Well, his face is bandaged up." Voltage shrugged.

"...Okay, I'll give you that one." Catwoman II allowed.

"No... It's Two-Face," Bat-Mite replied. "Going for a whole new look after his cosmetic surgery."

"Oh... I must've missed that..." Voltage face-palmed. "...Are you gonna call me an idiot now?"

"Well, you had a good excuse to say 'mummy', so I'll let you off on that one." Catwoman II told him.

This was suddenly on the news for everybody watching TV right now, even for Terry as he still thought about what was told to him about how he was the son of Bruce Wayne. Batman climbed up the side of the building and threw a smoke pellet, distracting the goons and allowing himself and the others to easily dispatch them. Catwoman II, Bat-Mite, and Voltage came together. Voltage came between them before they rubbed their feet together and shot out bigger and stronger thunderbolts from Voltage's thunder magic which shook the building a bit from the vibrations and impact. Two gunmen started shooting at them, but one got a Batrope tied around his legs and was dragged into the smoke. The second guy tried to aim, but all he saw were a hulking bat-creature, a monstrous cat-creature, and an electricity demon. Batman calmly took the gun away as the man slumped to his knees. 

"...What's HAPPENING?!" The man asked, clutching his head.

"Your favorite nightmare," replied Batman. "Should last about an hour." And so he and his allies entered the helicopter.

"I'm just glad I never pissed off Bruce or Batman." Lady Gothika said to herself.

"What about that time you had 'adolescence' so you talked back to him and got cocky about not cleaning your room?" Voltage smirked.

"Uh... What?" Lady Gothika asked like she didn't know about that.

Bat-Mite rolled his eyes. "Let's go..." he muttered. "Hopefully the kids are doing as good as we are..."

"I just know if the house is turned upside-down again, Felicity is going straight to military school, Cadet Kelly style." Catwoman II replied

"Then hopefully the Fudo kids are a better influence on them." Voltage replied.

* * *

Meanwhile, the kids had been dropped off at the Fudo house for the night.

"Sorry we came a little late," Cherry said to Atticus. "We appreciate this though."

"Hey, no worries," Atticus said with a yawn. "I just might miss breakfast though. I had a huge case that lasted the whole day."

"Well, at least try not to miss brunch," Lionel replied. "That's your second shot."

"You sure the kids will be okay here?" asked Thor.

"Trust me, dude, they'll be fine," Lionel said. "Why don't we introduce OUR kids to your kids?"

"Excuse me..." Atticus said as he came inside his house which was pretty big, though not as big as like say a mansion, but still bigger than the average house.

"We got company?" Patch asked Atticus as he came by.

"We sure do," Atticus smiled sleepily as he pet his adult Dalmatian. "I can tell this will be a pretty big adventure and experience."

LJ reached out and curiously patted Patch on the head. Patch looked over and gave a small smile.

"I see you met Patch," Atticus smiled wearily. "I'll go get the kids."

"Thanks, Atticus," Thor smiled back. "How've you been?"

"Pretty good, just really tired right now," Atticus replied before he called out. "Kids! Come on down! Vincent!"

The oldest child came out, he had Atticus's dark brown hair and Mo's earth green eyes.

"Akito!"

The middle child came out as he had light brunette hair like Mo, but had Atticus's ocean blue eyes.

"Estelle!"

The youngest child came out who was a daughter with Atticus's dark brown hair with Atticus's ocean blue eyes.

"Um... Good evening," LJ said, taking a bow. "Very nice to meet you all."

"Salutations." Zofia added.

"Well, it's good to meet ya too," Akito replied. "So, I suppose we're, like, cousins?"

"I would say so as their mother is like your father's sister," Mo said as she came by while stirring a bowl of cookie dough. "It's so good to see you all again. Does anyone want some cookie dough?"

"Oh, uh, I shouldn't..." Thor smiled bashfully. "I have such a sweet tooth."

"W-Well... Alright," LJ said as he had a little. "Oh... Wow... This tastes amazing!" he exclaimed, hopping around on his sneakers.

Thor decided to have some too and beamed a bit from that.

"I hope you kids like some chocolate chip cookies then," Mo beamed. "I'm making that for dessert later~"

"...Could I have some?" Felicity asked her parents.

"Hmm... I suppose..." Cherry replied. "Just don't take advantage of your aunt and uncle's kindness."

"We'll do our best not to," LJ replied, before turning to Akito. "So... What do you do for fun?"

"Well, I usually work-out or play some sports," Akito said. "Sometimes I read, though I'm mostly an outdoors kid."

"Neat," LJ replied as he took out a lunch pail. "I usually like to watch cartoons or play with my action figures. Sometimes I like reading, though."

"Cartoons and action figures are good." Akito replied.

"Um... What do you like?" Zofia asked Estelle.

"Most of the time, I'm practicing to become a prima ballerina," Estelle smiled as she balanced on one leg. "Would you like to learn?"

"Oh, yes," Zofia smiled back. "My friend at school doesn't like ballet, but it looks pretty amazing, like when I watch the CATS musical."

"Well, alright then; I guess I could show you some." Estelle replied.

"Nice!" Zofia beamed.

"...I like to paint..." Vincent said to Felicity.

"I usually just read or make up my own music." Felicity shrugged.

Things seemed awkward between the two elder siblings as they weren't sure how to bond with each other.

"Sometimes I like to carry my toys around in this lunchbox," explained LJ. "Easier than using my pockets all the time, really."

"Eh, I get that," Akito replied. "I have a collection of some action figures. I don't play with them much anymore, but would ya like to maybe check 'em out? My sister collects dolls these days even if she doesn't play with them anymore as a teenager."

"Well, okay!" LJ replied.

"So, do you guys have to go?" Mo asked Cherry, Lionel, and Thor.

"We have a lot of work to take care of," Cherry replied. "It's a bit complicated."

"Let's just say Mr. Wayne needs our help," Lionel added. "We'll pick the kids up tomorrow morning."

"All right," Mo replied. "We'll see you then."

"Thanks, Mo, I knew we could count on you guys," Thor smiled. "Have a good time, kids!"

The kids told their parents goodbye as they were left at the Fudo household.

"Hopefully that'll work out fine," Cherry said. "I hope it at least keeps Flick out of trouble. I was always afraid of teenage rebellion because I wasn't sure how I'd deal with that when it would come. Also, with her, I didn't think that it would come."

"Well, she probably did it in an attempt to be popular," Lionel replied. "And with most teenagers, being popular is the most important thing to them."

"Yeah..." Cherry sighed. "I guess that's true."

They soon left the Fudo household as they went to keep doing what they were doing.

"Alright, so where were we?" Thor asked as he took out a Pocket Planner, even though those died out back in the 90's.

"Helping Bruce." Lionel said as the flashback ended.

* * *

As Batman was knocked from the rope, he fired another grappler that clung to the ceiling of the helicopter the bandage-faced man was aboard, and yanked it, causing the helicopter to tip over and send Two-Face tumbling out of the aircraft. Luckily, Batman used the rope to swing down, grab him, and crash in through a window.

"Sorry, not sorry." Voltage chuckled at Two-Face's demise.

Two-Face soon sat up before he glared as he tried to shoot his gun at the three before they all ran around as Batman hopped towards him and lunged out at him to tackle him to the floor. The other three moved themselves as Batman had Two-Face then.

Batman firmly punched Two-Face which made the gun fly out of his hand before he grabbed a hold of the bandages to rip them off. "Show me. What did you do?" he demanded before he saw the villain's face which was a bit of a shock.

"He looks... Normal..." Catwoman II said to the boys.

"Yeah..." Bat-Mite and Voltage added.

"No. I played along as long as I could," Two-Face panted a bit as he faced Batman. "While you and the docs had your joke. You got everyone to smile and keep their lunches down when they looked at me. Pretending I looked normal."

"You think...?" Batman started.

"Cut it out. Just look at me and have your laugh," replied Two-Face. "Get it over with. At least both sides match now, right? Look at me and have your laugh. Who are we kidding? They couldn't fix me. Nothing can change what I am."

"You and me both." said Batman firmly.

"...Deep." Catwoman II whispered.

"What now after this?" Voltage asked.

"...Maybe we should go back home." Catwoman II suggested.

"Good idea." Bat-Mite replied as he snapped his fingers, and the three of them vanished.

* * *

They came back home in their civilian outfits. Since the kids weren't home that night, they all decided to relax with a very hot bubble bath together, with Cherry in the middle, as usual, so they could both be next to her.

"I'm bushed..." Thor groaned a bit as he sunk in the tub a little which made some water sploosh out onto the floor which made him chuckle sheepishly. "Heh. Sorry about that, guys."

"It's okay, we'll take care of that later," Cherry replied. "Let's just relax. Tonight was a bit of a doozy."

"You said it..." Lionel sighed, going limp as Thor was apparently massaging him.

"I just had to ask to join the Justice League that time when Superman died before he was able to be brought back," Thor said. "...You guys liked me in the League, right?"

"Of course we did, Thor," Cherry told him softly. "You helped us cheer up after a bit of a big dark period."

"I'm just not sure if I can keep up this superhero 'stick'." Thor sighed a bit.

"Hey, it's fine," Lionel replied, in mid-moan. "It's not forever... Soon we'll find someplace nicer to live, ya know? Mm... Yeeeeaaaahhhhh..."

"I'm gonna mold you like fluffy pizza dough~" Thor purred as he massaged carefully, but still strong.

"Ah, you boys keep me young." Cherry said to them.

"Mm-hmm..." Thor smirked. "I just guess... Where could we go to live? The kids grew up here."

"Maybe after they get older we'll... We'll... R-R-Retire somewhere..." Cherry said, though a bit shakily as she dreaded about getting older.

"Don't think of it as retirement," said Lionel as he moaned again. "Besides, no matter how old you get, you don't even look any different... Mmmmm, fuck yes! You're welcome, by the way!"

"I suppose that's true." Cherry said softly.

"It'll be okay," Thor smiled as he still massaged Lionel. "We'll all be just fine."

"Aye!" Lionel replied as they decided to watch TV. The program that was on had been pre-empted by a news report.

 ** _"A spokesman for the Ridley Chewing Gum family has revealed that the Mutants have kidnapped Kevin Ridley: the two-year-old heir to the Ridley fortune."_ **explained a reporter.

Lionel sighed, wrapping a towel around his head. "No rest for the wicked, I reckon." he remarked.

"Sounds right to me," Thor sighed as he put on the fireplace and put his hands by the fire. "Ah... Toasty..."

"Being an adult is _soooo_ hard..." Cherry said with a slight whine as she began to wash her hair as the boys got out of the tub. "I'll be there in a minute, I gotta get some tangles out."

"Gladly," said Lionel. "We'll wait up."

Thor kept warming up by the fire.

"Are you cold?" Lionel asked. "We just got out of a warm bath."

"Exactly!" Thor chuckled a bit before sighing. "Ah... The news... It's always rough."

"Ain't it always nowadays?" Lionel replied as he got dressed. "It's like good news doesn't even exist anymore."

"Yeah, just at like the dinner table if you're lucky." Thor remarked.

Eventually, Cherry walked by with a towel wrapped around her body and hair as she came to get dressed too. "The news always depresses me, that's why I rarely watch it, except fo maybe School Closings." she said with a sigh.

"You and me both," Lionel replied. "And who could really blame ya?"

"Yeah," Cherry replied. "I'm about to change my clothes."

Thor leaned over a bit bashfully.

"No, you can't watch!" Cherry rolled her eyes.

"It's a joke! I'm joking!" Thor smiled bashfully as he backed up then.

"Well, you win some, you lose some." Lionel shrugged.

"I just hope that the kids were alright with Atticus and Mo." Thor sighed softly.

"Me too." replied Lionel as he got dressed.

"I'm sure they did though," Thor smiled. "I always loved playing with Atticus in high school."

"More than playing with us?" Cherry smirked playfully, referring to herself and Lionel.

"Well, it's better than playing with myself," Thor rolled his eyes before his eyes widened. "Uh, wait, lemme rephrase that."

"Hey, I could say the same!" Lionel smiled. "Playing with YOU is fun, too."

"Yeah, it is," Thor smiled back sheepishly. "I do love our time together."

"That's so cheesy, I mistook it for pizza," Cherry smirked as she came back out as she was more comfortable. "Ah, I guess there's a plus side about growing up: this type of comfort with each other."

"Yeah..." Lionel added as he finished getting dressed. "Ready to roll."

"You good to go, Thor?" Cherry asked.

"Yeah, let's go," Thor replied. "After some chocolate though."

Cherry rolled her eyes before she let him borrow some Kit Kats.

"Mm..." Thor smiled as he took one to eat which made him feel a lot better.

* * *

Later, one of the Mutant gangsters was on their phone. "You ever wanna hear him again?" he asked, while his cronies were holding Kevin Ridley captive. "Do like we said. You got one hour." he then hung up. 

One gangster soon sniffed the air. "Aw, man. The kid messed himself!" she groaned.

"Hold your breath," replied the leader as he prepped his weapon. "Once we get the ransom, we flush the whole kid."

Suddenly, they heard a click on the door. The lead gangster turned around and opened fire on the door, shooting it full of holes, and his cronies joined in shortly. The door then slowly opened up before a bat came flying in as there didn't seem to be anybody else there.

"Get it off me! Get it off me!" A thug cried out as the bat attacked him.

"Chill, Spot," One of the others told him flatly. "It's just a bat."

A Baterang shot out and stabbed Spot through his hand which made him scream out and bleed.

"Get out of the way." The other gangster told Spot before he rapidly shot his gun which made Spot cry out and fall out the window with the glass shards that had blood dripped on them. "Should have got out of the way, Spot." he then said.

Soon, Batman's arms shot out of the wall before he grabbed a hold of the shooter and pulled him back as he came for the attack.

"Back off or I'll kill him!" The female gangster threatened as she held her gun at the toddler's head. "Believe me, man, I'll do it."

Batman shot the weapon out of the female gangster's hand, and then knocked her out with the butt of the rifle. Fortunately, Bat-Mite caught Kevin before he hit the ground, and hugged him to his chest.

"...I believe you." Batman replied firmly.

* * *

Meanwhile, a young girl in green boots and a familiar costume was sprinting across rooftops at that very moment.

* * *

Voltage shook a chill down his spine.

"You okay?" Catwoman II asked him.

"I could've sworn I felt some sort of weird déjà vu feeling... I can't explain it..." Voltage shrugged before he tickled Kevin's chin. "Hello~"

Kevin cooed and giggled at him with a small smile.

"Relax, little guy... You're gonna be ooookay." Bat-Mite added.

"Get out while you can," Batman told the other three. "I'll be right with you shortly."

"Alright," Catwoman II replied. "We'll keep the little ankle-biter busy."

Bat-Mite did a salute. "You got it!"

"Aye-Aye!" Voltage added.

Catwoman II walked out with the boys as Batman stepped back into the dark.

"Do you know who I am, punk?" Batman's voice asked.

"Where am I?" A man's voice replied. "I can't see."

"I'm your worst nightmare. The kind that makes you wake up screaming for your mother."

"I think I'm bleeding. What's on my face?"

"Quite an arsenal you had in that apartment. Combat weapons. You're going to tell me where you got them."

"Solid, man, I'll tell you, but no cops, and I walk. Deal?"

"You're in no position to negotiate. Let me show you."

Voltage played "Peek-a-Boo" with Kevin as he sat with Catwoman II and Bat-Mite. Batman removed his hand to reveal that the guy was being dangled from a rooftop, and he screamed at the top of his lungs. Voltage covered Kevin's ears.

"The roof dangle," Catwoman II smirked as she leaned over to see that. "Classic."

"Never thought he'd actually DO it," Bat-Mite chuckled. "Anyways, we may as well get the little guy home, and then we'll stop by the cave, say hi to Alfred, and then head home."

"All right..." Catwoman II said as she sent a quick text to Batman.

After a few moments, Batman checked his phone before he waved Catwoman II off as she left with the others.

"There, there, you'll be with Mommy and Daddy soon." Voltage cooed at Kevin as they walked off.

"Yeah, so just relax, little hombré." Bat-Mite added as they vanished in a puff of smoke.

* * *

After taking the kid back home, the three went to visit the BatCave.

"I better make a call..." Cherry said as she was about to call Atticus's house.

"Go for it." Lionel replied as he and Thor entered the BatCave.

Cherry dialed a number as she waited for the other line to pick up.

Eventually, Mo answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, Mo," Cherry gave a small smile. "I thought I'd check in. How are the kids?"

"Oh, they're fine," Mo replied as she walked by as the kids watched a movie together. "They seem to be watching a little _Star Wars_ together."

"Oh, good, I'm glad they all found a common interest." Cherry said from that.

"Atticus just hit the pillow and he's been out like a light," Mo continued. "You could set off a nuclear bomb and he'd still be sleeping."

"Cherry?" whispered Lionel, as he and Thor poked their heads out from the secret entrance. "You... Might wanna see this."

"Sounds like Atticus to me," Cherry replied as she put one finger up. "He was always such a hard worker."

Thor looked very impatient and shook Cherry a bit to get her off the phone.

"...Could you say hi for me?" Cherry sighed. "I think something bigger needs my attention right now."

"Oh, uh, sure," Mo replied. "Good night then."

"Good night," Cherry said before she hung up to look at the boys. "What?"

Lionel and Thor led her inside, where Max, the teenager from a few days ago, was busying herself by checking through Batman's crime files on the Batcomputer.

"...I reckon our intern found a way inside." Lionel replied.

"Oh... I see..." Cherry said with wide eyes.

"At least she's computer literate." Thor smiled sheepishly.

"Well, guess this is how Batgirl II begins..." Lionel replied. "Because we need SOME way to keep her quiet about this."

Max looked over to the three of them.

"Well, uh, hello there..." Cherry said.

"Hey." Max replied calmly.

"I see you've made yourself at home, young lady." Cherry remarked.

"Yeah..." Max replied. "This is a pretty neat set-up. Who knew that my boss _and_ Batman were the same guy?"

"...Alright," Lionel sighed. "What would it take to ensure nobody else finds out about this?"

"You let me become part of the team." Max smirked eagerly.

"...Fine." Lionel sighed.

"Was that so hard?" Max smirked.

"Kids today," Cherry rolled her eyes. "As long as you keep your mouth shut about this your boss and Batman are the same person."

"Yeah, kid, that could be very, very dangerous." Thor cautioned, a bit severally.

"Hey, my lips are sealed." Max replied.

"I'll start working on your suit," Lionel replied. "Soon as I draw up some blueprints."

"Sounds good to me," Max replied. "So, could we talk about a Christmas bonus?"

"Don't push it, kid," Cherry narrowed her eyes. "You're a bit salty."

"Aw, come on, you were young once." Max smirked.

"Yes, and I was a lot like you on a good day." Cherry said to her.

"We'll get to that eventually." Lionel replied.

"That's fine by me," Max said to them. "I look forward to my new future though."

"Likewise," Lionel replied. "You'd best get yourself home, young lady. And... You got the intern job."

"Excellent," Max said as she stood up. "I guess I'll get a call from you sometime tomorrow to start out?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Lionel replied. "You'll officially receive your new armor tomorrow after school, so you've got until nightfall to give it a test run."

"Sounds good to me," Max said. "Pleasure to be in business with you, sirs and ma'am."

"Get back home safe." Thor smiled.

"I will." Max replied as Lionel and the others took their leave.

"So, uh, you wanna watch a movie?" Thor smirked. "In bed..?"

"Thor..." Cherry warned. "Don't look at me like that."

"Can't help it," Thor smirked. "I just love to empower you like this, you're like a cute little deer in headlights."

Lionel blushed as he rode on Thor's shoulders. "He makes a good point..." he replied.

"Come on, guys, don't gang up on me like this!" Cherry playfully whined. "You know weak it makes me feel."

"Yes, we know, that's why we do it," Thor whispered as he brushed some hair behind her ear to whisper closely. "You're trapped with us..."

Cherry let out a muffled squeal as she cupped her mouth before flailing her arms a bit as that made her shake. "You vile cruel beasts!" she then gasped out.

"Maybe, but we're _your_ vile, cruel beasts," Lionel smirked. "And you _love_ it."

"Shucks..." Cherry mumbled as she turned bright pink in her face.

"Let's go to bed... With a movie..." Thor smirked. "I'll wrap you up like a marshmallow."

"Stawp that naow~..." Cherry mumbled sheepishly.

Lionel chuckled at this as they all changed out of their street clothing and back into inside clothes.


	8. Chapter 8

The next night, Max, aka Batgirl II, found herself with the others inside the hulking, tanklike "Batmobile", which rumbled through the city streets towards the location of the Mutants' meeting place in the Gotham Junkyard.

"Master Bruce?" asked Alfred, appearing on a video screen.

"Who else?" replied Batman, a smug smile on his face.

"Of course, but the signal is coming from--" Alfred replied.

"Been a while since I've taken her out," Batman continued. "Still purrs... Like it was yesterday."

"You're alright with this?" Max asked Alfred.

"I've come accustomed to it for quite some time now." Alfred replied.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Mutants stood as their leader spoke to them. "They call us a gang; they think we just noisy kids!!" he bellowed. "Only when they die by our hands will they know that Gotham City belongs to the Mutants!" he was met with a rousing cheer. "Take the guns. Take the bombs. Storm police headquarters and kill, and kill!! Bring me the head of the old man Gordon! I will carry it through the streets! And the Batman, who thinks he can mess with us. I will tear him limb from limb!"

Just then, a warning flare was shot into the air, getting the attention of the Mutants as the Batmobile rumbled up onto a hill.

"Mutants, surrender now, or be destroyed." announced Batman. His response came in the form of a hail of gunfire.

From nearby, the young Carrie Kelly watched, as the Batmobile kept on moving. The Batmobile moved forward regardless of the gunfire as Carrie came to help out in her own way. Bombs fell like at a war zone as the Batmobile drove by.

"They don't even wait for an order," Batman smirked as he kept coming as he didn't let anything stop him. "Kids today. No respect."

The Batmobile launched several rockets back, blowing up parts of the junkyard.

"I love the smell of nitroglycerin in the evening," Bat-Mite remarked, as he squeezed the trigger, knocking over several Mutant punks. Some of them tried to gear up and retaliate, only for Carrie to show up and soundly kick each of their asses.

Eight thugs leapt on top of the Batmobile and tried to smash their way inside, but Voltage electrified the outer walls, zapping each of them. "Sorry, no hitch-hikers allowed!" he exclaimed with a smirk.

"Ugh! Those three are back too?!" A thug complained.

"You better believe it and there's more where that came from!" Voltage smirked.

Some thugs came to tackle Catwoman II as they saw her before she leaped up and pounced out of the way before using some fighting that she learned to keep them away.

"That's my girl." Batman whispered as he sounded very proud of her.

The mutant leader inspected one of the bullets and grinned darkly. "Rubber bullets..." he said. As the Batmobile came to a stop, he yelled some more. "All this metal, and you don't even use it to kill! It's just a shell to keep you safe? What's the matter? Ain't you got the stomach for it?" he asked, standing right in front of the tank.

"I say we blow his fool head right off his shoulders..." Bat-Mite snapped.

"I call you COWARD!" roared the mutant leader. "Come out here and face me like a MAN! I kill you. I eat your heart. Prove you can take me. Prove you can fight with your hands."

Voltage made a "yak-yak-yak" gesture with his left hand.

"Come on, man. You boring me!" said the mutant leader.

Batman shut off the Batmobile.

"Sir, you can't seriously be..." Alfred said.

"Mm-hmm." Batman replied.

"Batman...?" Catwoman II asked warily.

"I got this, alright?" Batman told her. "I've been doing this since before you came into my life."

"...Well, okay..." Catwoman II said as she tried to keep calm.

Cracking his knuckles, Batman climbed out of the Batmobile, leapt off the mutant leader's head, and landed in front of him, ready to throw down. Catwoman II took a deep breath as she got ready for her own thugs to fight.

"Yeah! Get him!" Carrie's voice called.

"Spy!" Catwoman II glared as she lunged out at Carrie's direction.

"Wah! Get off of me!" Carrie cried out.

"Hey, chill!" Batgirl II exclaimed. "I know her, she's cool. Like the mutants would be smart enough to have spies. You give 'em way too much credit!"

"Hmm..." Catwoman II replied before she took another look. "...That outfit... That's Robin's old outfit..."

"I can explain, but please get off of me." Carrie grunted.

"Well... Fine..." Catwoman II said as she backed off. "But I'm watching you, Red."

"Duly noted..." Carrie replied as she brushed herself off.

"Hmm... Sorry about that..." Catwoman II said. "I guess I could trust you since, uh, Batgirl II does."

"That wasn't so hard, now was it?" Carrie replied. "You look a lot like Lady Gothika from the old stories. Batman's trusted ally and the biological niece of Catwoman."

"You're very purr-ceptive~" Catwoman II smirked a bit.

"Well, I'll be," Bat-Mite remarked. "Looks like the kid knows her Bat-Mythology."

"So, you must be Bat-Mite," Carrie said to him. "You're like Batman's #1 fan from another dimension."

"Yep-Yep-Yep!" Voltage replied.

"And you... Um... Uh..." Carrie said.

"Well, I was Thunder Boy, but I'm Voltage now," Voltage explained. "I'm an honorary member of the Bat-Family since I got married."

"To Lady Gothika?" Carrie guessed.

"Her and Bat-Mite..." Voltage smiled bashfully. "We have a, what they call, polygamous relationship."

"Yep," Bat-Mite agreed. "Though Batman looks like he could use some help out there. He's gettin' seriously whomped!"

"Do you mind if we...?" Voltage asked Carrie.

"Oh! Sorry, go ahead," Carrie told them. "It was nice talking to ya."

"Likewise." Voltage nodded before he jumped out with Bat-Mite and Catwoman II.

* * *

Batman grunted as he seemed to be a bit bruised and slightly bloodied from the mutant gang. Voltage launched a blast of electricity to fry the mutant leader, then Bat-Mite handed him a gift-wrapped box, which he opened, only for it to explode in his face. Catwoman II then used her whip to wrap around his legs and trip him up. They all shared a threeway high-five/high-five sandwich from their combined efforts.

"I think that guy just bit me." Batman groaned.

"I'm just glad you didn't get killed." Catwoman II said to him.

"Now let's get you outta here." Bat-Mite replied as he magically lifted Batman back into the Batmobile, then set it on auto-pilot to head back to the Batcave.

The mutant leader grumbled a bit.

"So... What's up?" Catwoman II smirked.

"You three are just as tedious as he is," The mutant leader replied. "I'll brawl you all worse than a hippo with a hernia."

"Oh, you're gonna bring your mother into this?" Voltage smirked.

"HA! Sick burn, Voltage." Bat-Mite congratulated him as they threw a smoke bomb in his face. 

While the mutant leader was stumbling around, the Batmobile took off. Voltage beamed proudly of himself.

* * *

Batman passed out a bit on the way due to the extreme pain.

"Gosh... That has to suck..." Catwoman II said from the blood and bruises.

"Please, dear. You're in the way of the sensors." said Alfred's voice as two metallic sensors lowered down, making Carrie back up.

"Watch it. You're bouncing around too much!" Carrie exclaimed.

"It's all right..." Batman grunted. "Stretcher's gyro-stabilized... Stays level, no matter what."

"Cool," replied Carrie. "What is this thing?"

"Dick called it the Batmobile... Something a kid would say." Batman replied.

"I like it," replied Carrie. "Now, hold your breath." she told Batman as she lifted his right arm and lifted it over his chest, before breaking off a section of pipe, wrapping it around a piece of her cape and made a makeshift sling for his broken arm.

"Where'd you learn to do that...?" asked Batman.

"Girl Scouts." Carrie replied.

"What's... Your... Name...?" asked Batman.

"Carrie. Carrie Kelley," replied Carrie, before she thought for a bit. "...Robin."

Batman gave a smile, despite the obvious pain he was in. "Mine's Bruce."

"Sir, you are delirious!" Alfred's voice said. "You should stay quiet from now on, we're moments from the hospital."

"Alfred, we shouldn't go to the hospital, we should go to the Cave." Catwoman II argued.

"You know me so well." Batman said to her.

"You were always like a father to me." Catwoman II reminded him.

Batman hid a small smile from that.

"But sir--" Alfred's voice piped up.

"The Cave," Batman grunted out before he held his chest a bit which made Carrie put both of her hands down over him before he cracked a very small smile to her. "And Robin comes with us."

"Welcome to the band, kid." Bat-Mite remarked as the Batmobile rumbled on towards home.

Carrie looked a bit touched from that as it seemed to mean a lot to her. Just to hear those words.

* * *

They made way into the Batcave as Carrie got to see it up close as she felt very amazed. Voltage tried to help Batman out which made him get away and walk off, though a bit stumbled from his poor balance.

"Welcome to the Batcave." Catwoman II told Carrie.

Carrie took a look around the place, seeing the Batcomputer, and tried to log in, but the screen kept replying "ACCESS DENIED".

"Hands to yourself, please." Alfred told her. 

Carrie stared at him for a few minutes. "Where did he go?" she finally asked.

"To find his strength..." Alfred replied.

"He'll be back shortly," Catwoman II added. "Also, step away from the Batcomputer. Nobody else is allowed to touch it, except for maybe our new intern."

"...Fine." Carrie replied as she backed off.

"Hm." Catwoman II nodded sharply.

"...Weren't you a little hard on her?" Voltage asked.

"Hey, you know the rules and so do I." Catwoman II defended.

"Solid point," Bat-Mite replied. "She'll get her access card when she earns it."

"Hmm... Okay... She seems like a cool kid though." Voltage said.

"Yes, she does, but we'll give her some time before we accept her." Catwoman II suggested.

"Fair enough." Voltage shrugged from that.

* * *

**_Meanwhile..._ **

"Yeah, Creepie, we gotta stay with our aunt and uncle a while," Zofia said as she was on the phone with her best friend from school. "Oh, don't worry, we'll be back in school when it's time, it's not like our parents abandoned us. I just feel like Felicity has a huuuge lesson to learn in humility."

 ** _"Alright, catch you later."_ **Creepie's voice replied before she hung up.

"Your friend alright?" Felicity asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah," Zofia replied. "She, Chris-Alice, and Budge were worried that I probably moved away without telling them."

"It's so good that you've made some friends," Felicity smiled. "I remember when you were younger, you didn't think that you would even need friends."

"You trying to butter me up?" Zofia asked suspiciously.

"I am sorry I hurt you," Felicity sighed. "I had no excuse to do what I did with that party. I know now that Audrey, Delia, and Deidre are not my real friends and they abandoned me and will still in the future if I ask them for help."

Zofia gave a odd look at her sister. "...At least you learned a _little_ from this..." she replied, before taking a rolled-up newspaper and hitting her with it. "And _that's_ for being a nitwit. Next time we try to give you good advice, be ready to actually _take_ it."

"I understand." Felicity sighed.

Zofia nodded firmly as she walked off at that.

"Is she always so critical?" Felicity asked LJ.

"Not until recently," LJ replied. "Before then, she had no reason to be."

"I'm very, very sorry..." Felicity sighed. "I just hope I can pay back Mother, Dad, and Uncle Lionel about the collateral damage of our house."

"Even though Dad can fix most of the stuff that got destroyed, it'll be a while before they trust you again," LJ replied. "And speaking of paying..." he held out his hands.

"Huh? Oh..." Felicity looked to him before she took out her wallet to pay him.

"They'll forgive you some time," Estelle soothed. "Just give them some time."

"I hope that you are right." Felicity sighed to her cousin.

LJ withdrew his hands as soon as he was paid.

"Just no reading my diary." Felicity said.

"Oh, I would never do that," LJ replied. "I may be a little brother, but I'm no Matt McGuire or Truman X."

"Which I appreciate." Felicity remarked.

"And... I still appreciate you," LJ added with a smile. "And I'm not just saying that cuz I got paid. You just needed time to get back on the right path."

"I just hope I can make amends with my new friends... If they still wanna be my friends..." Felicity sighed a bit.

"Likewise," LJ agreed. "I'll come with you... For back-up, you know."

"Hmm... All right..." Felicity said. "I have to warn you though, high school is a jungle: It can be very dangerous if you stray away from your pack, the predators are quite merciless, and if you're below the social food chain, you're as good as prey. Freshman year can be pretty brutal unless you're like a ninja or something."

"Uh... Got it." LJ nodded.

"Support from the family helps a bit." Felicity said.

"I know," LJ replied. "That's why I'm doing it."

Felicity beamed a bit from that. LJ gave a small smile. Akito, Estelle, and Vincent all looked happy from that as Zofia had some privacy with a coloring book to soothe herself as she listened to some classical music. For what it was worth, she seemed to be coming along decently. The phone soon rang.

* * *

"Hello?" Mo smiled. "Just a sec. Kids!"

The Fudo siblings rushed by.

"Erm... The other kids!" Mo then said.

The Schwartz siblings came by then.

"It's your mother." Mo told them warmly.

"Hi, Mom!" LJ said. "What's up?"

 _ **"I just thought I'd check on you kids,"** _Cherry replied. ** _"Luckily I haven't heard complaints from your aunt and uncle, are you three getting along okay?"_**

"Yes, Mother, we're all okay," Felicity smiled. "Though... Zofia says she's barely talking to me."

 _ **"Ah, Zo, you were always the sensitive one."**_ Cherry said from that.

"I believe I get that from Uncle Thor." Zofia remarked.

 ** _"More or less,"_ **Lionel chimed in. **_"Takes a lot to get him to cheer up, but Zofia will forgive you when she's ready."_**

"I understand..." Felicity sighed.

 ** _"We're glad that you kids are alright though,"_ **Thor smiled. **_"We've just been so busy with--... Uh... Work... And taxes... And adult stuff... Like... The President of the United States."_**

 _ **"I'd rather not worry a lot about him if you don't mind."**_ Cherry rolled her eyes about the current president whose name we won't mention at this moment in time.

 ** _"You mean Ronald Reagan?"_ **asked Lionel. **_"This_ was _written in the 80's... Still, our business with your Great-Uncle Bruce won't interfere with spending time with you four, um, three."_**

"You'll be back for us soon, right?" Zofia asked. "I promised Creepie we'd be back in school."

 ** _"Oh, our work won't interfere with your schoolwork,"_** Cherry promised. **_"We'll all be back together again soon, I promise."_**

"Could we also get presents from Grunkle Bruce and Graunt Selina?" Zofia asked.

 _ **"Impulsive, aren't we?"** _Cherry smirked. ** _"I wonder where you got your Large Ham tendencies from, my younger daughter?"_**

 ** _"I think it's because you watched late-night talk shows when you were pregnant with her?"_ **Thor smirked back.

 ** _"Quiet, you."_ **Cherry rolled her eyes.

LJ gave a wheezing chuckle. "Don't ever change, Mom, Dad, Uncle," he replied. "I reckon we'll see you around."

 ** _"Don't worry,"_ **Cherry said. **_"We'll be back home altogether soon."_**

 ** _"And then we'll all do something fun,"_** Thor added. **_"Okay? Okay!"_**

The Schwartz siblings smiled hopefully to be with their parents again soon, but of course, it would take some time with the return of Batman and Felicity gaining her family's trust again. Like most things, it'd take time, but it'd be worth the effort. Eventually, they all hung up on each other.

"See? They called." Estelle smiled.

"They sure did," Felicity replied. "I just hope they're not still mad at me."

"Didn't sound like it to me," Akito said to her. "Luckily we all have pretty good parents to look out for us."

"Oh, for sure!" LJ agreed. "They're not gonna be mad forever, just for a little bit."

"Yeah, just give them time to cool off," Akito smiled bashfully. "I got mad at Dad once because he was gone for so long and didn't tell us why, but it was just all part of one big mission for him. Luckily we made up."

"You were always the closest to Dad." Vincent commented.

"Well, yeah," Akito chuckled. "I look up to him, the same way he looked up to Mr. Clark Kent. Hmm... Should we call him 'Grandpa'?"

"Maybe." Estelle shrugged.

"You guys sure are admirable," Felicity said to them. "I'm glad we have you with us."

"Yeah, we're pretty cool like that." Akito smirked with his hands on his hips.

"Maybe we could have adventures of our own!" LJ exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Akito beamed as they shared a fist-bump. "It would be most awesome."

Mo smiled from the kitchen as she watched and heard the kids getting along nicely with each other. They soon came to the living room together to play video games for a while as Patch watched them from the floor. They all had plenty of fun hanging out and they seemed more like siblings than cousins.


	9. Chapter 9

Cherry let out a small groan as she collapsed onto her huge bed that she shared with Thor and Lionel.

"I don't care what those women at the grocery store say," Thor glared. "You are a great mom."

"You think so?" Cherry asked. "I'm exhausted."

"Tut, tut..." Thor wagged his finger before he grabbed her right foot.

"Yaugh!" Cherry yelped as she almost slipped from that.

Thor smiled as he massaged her foot. Cherry tried to protest, though she grunted and let out a very relaxed-sounding moan.

"I call left!" Lionel replied as he took the left foot and began massaging it as well.

"Gah!" Cherry yelped before she looked relaxed again. "Oh, you guys... Are you trying to butter me up for something?"

"No, that was last week when we pretended you were popcorn." Thor smirked.

"Oh! Sh-... Shh!" Cherry shushed with a chuckle.

"We just thought you looked tense." Thor said to her.

"So we figured we'd take some stress off you!" Lionel added.

"I guess I'm just worried about the kids," Cherry sighed a bit. "What are we gonna do with this Dark Knight business and making sure that they're all okay?"

"Hey, we'll make sure they're okay!" Lionel replied. "And make sure the city stays safe!" But somehow, he felt like things were about to get much more complicated.

"I sure hope so," Cherry said softly. "Sometimes it feels like it's getting harder."

"Regardless, you are a great mother," Thor advised. "Even my uncle thinks you're a pretty good mother too."

"Bruce did too after the first time I got pregnant while Aunt Selina helped me out with getting adjusted since it felt scary the first time we were about to start our family." Cherry said with a low sigh.

"And he was right." Lionel replied.

Just then, they got a text from Max's phone:

**_"Hey, bosses;_ **

**_Apparently mine and Carrie's training starts tomorrow; Bats sez it'll be weeks before we're ready for direct contact... He's detailed the plan out, but if we stray in any way? We get canned. Feel free to tag along tomorrow, if you want._ **

**_XOXO, Max"_ **

"Hmm... What do we do?" Cherry paused thoughtfully.

"I reckon we could supervise, just in case," suggested Thor. "It'd make for some nifty on-the-job training."

"Did you just say 'reckon'?" Cherry asked.

"Let me have this or else I'll numb your tongue again." Thor smirked.

"Gah! No! Jeez!" Cherry cried out.

"Heheheh," Thor chuckled. "I stole that from Uncle Dearest~"

"All right, we'll supervise," Cherry sighed a bit. "I just hope I don't get overworked with the stress. That used to happen to Dick a lot."

"Fair enough, and we'll try to handle most of the workload so that doesn't happen." Lionel replied.

"Good? Good... Good... Good..." Cherry said as she nodded with her boys.

"Good night!" The three said together as they felt secure now with more ground to cover. And so, they dozed off, preparing for another night of fierce crime-fighting.

The kids all seemed to sleep okay, though Felicity still thought about what to do with Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos other than apologizing before she left that night out her window as she decided to sit on the roof to look at the moon with a bit of a sigh. "I'm so sorry of being mad with and total scum... Where's my happy ending?" she said with a sigh to herself.

* * *

Eventually, the following morning came around, and LJ decided to accompany Felicity on her way to the sidewalk where Mal and her friends usually hung out.

"Thanks for coming with me," Felicity said to LJ. "I know it'll take a lot to get forgiveness, but it's best to get it out as soon as possible."

"There's the older sister I know and love," LJ replied. "I'm sure Mom, Dad, and Uncle will appreciate this too."

Felicity gave a small smile before they came to a stop.

"Whoa, Carlos, you look crashed," Jay said. "Your mom make you stay up to make sure no one takes her fur coats again?"

Carlos yawned heavily with a nod. "I swear, she'd probably treat a dog better than me sometimes..." he then mumbled out.

LJ cleared his throat to get their attention. When they glanced over to him, he spoke up. "I have someone with me who'd like to apologize for the stupid move she pulled." he explained before he stepped aside to let Felicity take center stage.

Felicity walked over a bit. "Um... Hey, guys..." she smiled sheepishly. "Some party, huh?"

The four glared a bit while crossing their arms a bit, even Evie and she was the sweetest one out of all of them.

"I'm sorry about my performance at that party," Felicity sighed as she bowed her head. "I guess I wasn't really sure how to act... Especially since I've never been to school before until I started high school."

"...You didn't go to elementary or middle school?" Mal asked.

"When I was a little girl, I was shopping with my mother, then I lost her in the Mall," Felicity sighed. "I got really scared and got lost in the crowd... I was terrified and I've been afraid of crowds ever since. So, I haven't been to school before I became a freshman."

"Plus she _was_ buzzed off her butt at the party," LJ added. "And have we _ever_ known anybody to act rationally while under the influence?"

"Hm... Yeah... Especially those PSAs at school." Mal remarked.

"Don't drink and drive... Don't drink until you're older... Blah, blah, blah..." The four friends recited together, a bit dully.

"I am very sorry for what happened," Felicity told her new friends. "I'll do whatever it takes, just as long as you can forgive me and become my friends again."

"...Well, alright..." Mal replied. "We'll give you another shot. Just this once."

"Ah, excellent!" Felicity cheered.

"But that's it," Jay glared. "If you do something stupid like that again or make fun of my hair, we will not be responsible for our actions."

"Erm... Understood..." Felicity said nervously.

"Glad we got that settled," Carlos replied. "So... What now?"

"Maybe we could have some chocolate frosted milkshakes?" Felicity suggested. "Ya know, hang out before we have to go back to school?"

"...Sure, okay." replied the others in agreement.

Felicity gave two thumb's up at LJ. LJ smiled as he gave a thumb's up back to her.

"Hopefully this is worth it," Carlos said to Felicity. "I really like ya, Felicity. Uh... But not in that way, uh, like how a brother loves a sister."

"Sure, I understand," Felicity replied. "I feel the same way about you, Carlos."

The others smiled about that. It was definitely a heartfelt sentiment.

"I think I met the girl of my dreams at your party though..." Carlos smiled bashfully. "...Hopefully, she consents."

"Oh? Anybody I know?" Felicity asked.

"...Probably the Headmistress's daughter?" Carlos replied.

"Oh... You mean Jane?" Felicity asked. "I think she's more shy than I am. I don't know anything about her other than who her mother is."

"Well, you two seem nice for one another," Evie replied. "Maybe you'll get another chance to talk to her."

Carlos looked bashful.

"Chicks, huh?" Jay smirked at Carlos. "I could help ya out there. I'm a chick magnet myself."

Mal rolled her eyes a bit from that.

"I'll try to help out," Felicity said. "That's what friends do."

"Thanks, Felicity." Carlos smiled from that.

"At least you guys got that cleared up." LJ smiled.

"Looks like it." Felicity said.

"I'm still watching you, but yeah..." Mal replied. "I'm still mad at the person who let me down for the first time in my life."

"Oh, it couldn't be that bad to hold a grudge over," Felicity said. "Maybe I could help you?"

"I doubt it..." Mal said, a bit coldly as she walked off briefly to think.

"I'm sorry... Did I say something wrong?" Felicity asked.

"It's not your fault," Evie sighed softly as she knew why Mal was bummed out. "H-Her father left her and her mother after she was born."

"Oh..." Felicity replied. "W-Well... If it's alright, you could spend some time at my house... Hopefully this time, without a crazy party."

The others looked to each other.

"Shouldn't you ask the adults first?" LJ asked.

"It's just a little visit." Felicity defended.

"I guess I could let my mom know beforehand," Mal replied. "Y'know... So she doesn't wonder where I am."

"You seem to have issues with your mother." Felicity remarked.

"It's complicated..." Mal let out a small groan. "It's fine though. Don't worry about me."

"...Well, we're friends... I feel like I should..." Felicity said softly.

"It's nothing, really," Mal replied. "...But thanks for the concern, I appreciate it. Besides... Those milkshakes aren't gonna get themselves; let's move it."

Felicity looked a bit soft before they soon walked off together.

"Have fun, Sis." LJ said as he watched the teenagers go.

"I'm sure everything's gonna work out just fine now." Felicity smiled warmly.

LJ gave a nod, and he headed back to the Fudo house, whistling all the way.

* * *

Later that evening, Batman was driving through the street on his Batcycle, with Carrie and Max in the sidecar, both disguised as Mutant punks. Bat-Mite, Voltage, and Catwoman II were each flying overhead, disguises ready just in case, as they headed to the Beet St. Arcade, the site of their first battle with the Mutant gangsters. Speaking of which, two of said gangsters were hanging out at the arcade.

"That Batman... He nasty. Tossed Spike right through th' sign!" said one with a shirt that said 'My Name is ROB'.

"Yeah... I figure that _real_ coo', Rob," replied another with a shirt labeled 'My name is DON'. "Leader peg Batman."

Catwoman II shushed the others as they were close by that time.

"Leader say that, but Leader in a cell, Don." Rob told him.

"Leader don't ship out no cell." Don replied.

Max and Carrie took that time to walk down the way together which caught the two guys' attention right away.

"Eyes slideways." Rob smirked a bit to his buddy.

"Oh, chicken legs," Don replied. "In colors."

"Chicken legs, lickin' chegs..." grinned Rob.

"Chegs kinda my nasty, Rob." said Don as Rob seized Carrie by the arm.

"Chegs billy... Chegs pre-school mutant!" he replied as Carrie jerked her arm back.

"Leader take your face for touchin' me, Spud," Carrie told him.

"Yeah, right... Yo leader's squeeze, I figure," said Rob.

"Yeah? You really mutants, I figure." Max remarked.

"We mutants! We slicer-dicers!" Rob protested firmly.

"Sure you are, that's why you at the pipe," Max smirked. "Whatever. I don't shiv."

"Ah-hah..." chuckled Don. "She don't shiv."

"I don't shiv neither." Carrie said as she tried to fit in with Max.

"What pipe?" Rob asked. "What you billy about?"

"Ears only, Spud," Carrie replied as he seemed to look confused. "As in members."

"We Mutants," Rob said. "What pipe?"

"The pipe. West River and 40," Carrie explained. "Attendance. As in mandatory."

"Yeah, sure, I knew about the pipe." Rob then said.

"Sure you did," Max scoffed as she left with Carrie. "Didn't hear it from us, Spud."

"Real coo', Rob," remarked Don.

"Shut up and c'mon." replied Rob, as the both of them ran off, leaving the two teenagers to smirk with glee at how well the plan worked. And so, they went around, telling other members of the Mutant gang about this little rendezvous at "the pipe", so as to assure their attendance.

Finally, the both of them regrouped in an alley with Batman and the others.

"Where to?" asked Carrie.

"Take the cycle back to the cave," replied Batman. "You're all done for tonight."

"How do you know it worked?" asked Max, before she and the others all glanced up to a tall building, with the Bat-Signal being projected off its surface.

"Looks like it's time for other commitments." Catwoman II said.

"It's never over," Voltage remarked. "Not even when the fat lady sings."

* * *

They soon came to the top of the building together to meet up with Gordon who was there, waiting for them as they looked to see what was going on.

"There must be thousands of them," Gordon collected. "Why? Why there?"

"Because I want them there." Batman replied.

"It'll take an army to surround them," Gordon retorted. "I could call in the National Guard." he then offered.

"No. You can't arrest and hold them all," Batman told him. "The only way to finish this is to defeat them. Humiliate them. I'm counting on you, Jim. One last time."

Gordon just turned to Batman and gave a silent nod. The final showdown between the Batman and the Mutant Leader was underway at last.

"This is it, guys," Catwoman II told the guys. "This could be the ultimate moment of Batman's career."

"How do ya feel?" Voltage asked her.

"A little scared, but I'm sure he'll be alright," Catwoman II said. "He's always been the stronger one... Especially with that moment with the team-up with Batman and Power Girl after Lex Luthor became President of the United States."

"Yeah, that was wild." Bat-Mite nodded.

"Even more than that time with Constantine?" Voltage asked.

"Probably even more than that," Catwoman II replied. "Also that time with the Teen Titans. It's pretty huge."

"Might as well get to work." Bat-Mite replied.

* * *

A little while later, Gordon came back into the police station. "Thompson, you're relieved." he told the guard on watch.

The mutant leader flashed a toothy grin. "You come to say hello, old man?" he asked.

"No," replied Gordon firmly. "I came to say goodbye."

The mutant leader glared with a bit of a growl as he watched the old man leave. Gordan shut the doors behind him as the lights shut out on that. Also from that, the prison cell doors opened which let the mutant leader come out as he tried to get to the double doors, but they seemed to be stuck. He then saw the vents and decided to use that as his get-away.

Voltage used some special magic to keep an eye on the mutant leader at that.

"Now?" Batman asked.

"Just a little bit longer... Aaaand... He's close to the sewers..." Voltage reported. "I'd say go now, Mr. Dark Knight."

Batman nodded and then lunged at the mutant leader, tackling him into a large mud pit.

* * *

" **BATMAN!** " roared the leader as he got to his feet. "Face me, fool! I kill you! I show you who rules Gotham City!!"

Like a phantom emerging from the murky depths, Batman got to his feet. "Okay, boy..." he replied. "...Show me."

The mutant leader came to throw a punch at Batman, only for him to catch the fist before he struck him back in the face as a fight broke out between the two of them.

"Two men enter, one man leaves." Voltage told Catwoman II and Bat-Mite as he used his magic to make a screen appear so that they could watch the fight from the sewers.

"Just like a Mad Max flick... More specifically, 'Beyond Thunderdome'." Bat-Mite added as the mutants watched.

"You see, Don?" asked Rob. "Batman, he nasty."

"Hope Rob don't say balls nasty," replied Don.

"Balls nasty,"

"Shh!"

Fortunately, unlike the previous fight, Batman seemed to be getting the upper hand and giving the Mutant Leader a major-league run for his money. "You WEAK, old man!" he taunted, trying to throw him off his game. "You're slow!"

"True, but we're all slow when we're thigh-high deep in mud," replied Batman. The hulking brute lunged to tackle the Dark Knight, but he dodged out of the way before he could land; in a fit of rage, the ugly mook tried to claw Batman's face off, but ended up getting bat-smacked in the head, throwing off his balance somehow.

"And you're not too bright." added the Caped Crusader before he kicked him in the face, punched him in the gut, and then punched him across the face. 

It seemed like every time the Mutant Leader tried to counterattack, Batman always thought three steps ahead of him.

"What was that?" The mutant leader smirked as he seemed unhit. At first.

"Just the right kind of cut above the eyes," Batman replied as the mutant leader soon saw blood drawing from his head. "The kind that bleeds." he then said as he took that time to whack him down at the mud.

* * *

The mud splashed onto the two mutants who were together as they watched the fight.

"Ah. You see, Don?" Rob smirked. "Batman nasty."

"Shh." Someone shushed them.

"Leader's bogging." Rob then told Don.

"Leader billy berserk, Rob," Don replied. "He peg Batman, you see."

"Shh." Someone shushed them again.

"Ugh... Those two are giving me a migraine." Catwoman II groaned.

Bat-Mite handed her a bottle of water and some aspirin before twitching his nose. Suddenly, Rob and Don both fell over, their heads sporting massive lumps. Behind them laid a wooden club, which had now split in half.

"Taken care of." Bat-Mite replied as he turned back to watch the struggle. 

The mutant leader threw a flaming barrel at Batman, which nicked him in the shoulder; seeing his opportunity, he attacked with a barrage of kicks, but Batman dodged each attempt. He then leapt up, clasped his hands together and brought them down on the leader's head. He wasn't giving him an inch of ground to cover, so he kept on dishing it out at the mutant leader, even giving him a bloody nose in the process. Blood dripped into the mud as the mutant leader yelled out from immense pain. He didn't let that stop him though as Batman wasted no time with fighting back and even kicked away his opponent, making him splash in the mud. The others watched closely as there were some high stakes for them.

The mutant leader got back up as Batman avoided his hits only to hit back and not miss. "That a tickle?" he growled a bit from the next hit.

"That was a nerve bundle in your deltoid," Batman told him sharply. "Might not hurt, but you won't be moving that arm for a while."

"I think he just gave that guy a dead arm." Catwoman II said to the boys.

"Yowza..." Bat-Mite exclaimed in surprise.

The leader touched his now-limp appendage, then lunged at Batman and began smacking him around with his right arm, right before he kneed him in the chin, making the trio wince. Then he finally punched him into the mud.

"This could be it, folks..." Voltage announced like a newscaster as the mutant leader picked up Batman and laughed in his face.

"You finished, old man!" The Mutant Leader bellowed before Batman head-butted him in the face and knocked him away.

"You don't get it, son; this isn't a mudhole," The Dark Knight spoke before he blocked a punch, then beat the leader around twice before tackling him to the ground. "It's an operating table..." he grabbed the leader by his right arm. "...And _I'm_ the surgeon." he finished as he tugged on the arm, breaking it. The mutant leader could only scream in pain as Batman took the time to whale on him, as well as breaking his legs.

The three winced a bit, but they didn't feel bad of course. The mutants also winced a bit from the heavy leg crack they heard and saw which made some of them turn away. Batman whacked the leader's face a bit with his heavy fists as the others watched what the final outcome would be, but it didn't look very good for their leader. The leader's face was all bloodied up as he seemed to lay still from that as the others came to surround Batman as he sat on top of their leader.

"I think the King is dead." Catwoman II told the boys.

"Good riddance to bad rubbish, then," Bat-Mite replied. "Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy."

* * *

There was soon new word throughout the news as Felicity had milkshakes with her friends as promised.

"The Sons of Batman, huh?" Jay asked. "I thought he already had a son... And maybe a daughter?"

"That's not what that means," Mal replied. "If anything, they sound like followers."

"Yeah, like they're inspired by him." added Evie.

"Oh... I knew that..." Jay said.

"Suuure ya did..." Carlos replied. "Like how you knew about Mr. Deley's surprise pop quiz in Science."

Jay gave a growl with a roll of his eyes from that.

"Well... At least most of those Mutant creeps are rounded up and in jail," stated Felicity. "So we should be a little bit safer than we used to be."

"For the most part, yeah..." Carlos said.

"I'm not scared of them, but I guess we could all keep an eye on each other." Mal remarked.

"That's what friends do," Felicity replied. "Plus, I'm sure Batman and his helpers will be a great asset to keep us all safe."

Everyone agreed on that as they continued eating/drinking their respective orders.


	10. Chapter 10

Mo did some laundry as Atticus filled out some paperwork at his desk.

"Mo, you think we did alright with Cherry's kids?" Atticus asked.

"I'm sure we did just fine," Mo smiled. "I just hope whatever she's up to with Lionel and Thor, that it went alright."

"Here's hoping," replied Atticus as he began on his paperwork. "They could use a weekend to just hang out an' be a family."

"Oh, I think so too," Mo smiled. "I'm glad we're happy together."

"Yeeep!" Atticus smiled back. "...Just like in the main universe."

"What?" Mo asked from that.

"Nothing?" Atticus said sheepishly from that with a weak chuckle.

Mo shrugged and went back to laundry, as Atticus wiped his brow in relief. Things seemed to wrap up nicely for Batman, Catwoman II, Voltage, and Bat-Mite so far.

* * *

 ** _"The Mutants are dead,"_** A former mutant said on TV with the Bat-Signal painted on his face. **_"This is the new face of the law. We are the Sons of Batman. And Gotham's criminals are about to enter Hell."_**

"Good riddance." Cherry said as she flipped off the TV while leaning back on the couch with her head against Thor's lap with her feet in Lionel's lap as they sat on the couch together.

* * *

Meanwhile, at stately Wayne Manor, Bruce was gazing out the window, while the television was on in the background. _ **"Instances of Batman-inspired vigilantism are on the rise,"**_ said the reporter. ** _"Regular people fighting to take back their neighborhoods."_**

Alfred walked over to Bruce. "How are you feeling, sir?" he asked.

Bruce's lips curled into a smile. "Like it was yesterday," he replied.

* * *

Batman was all over the news, even for those in the old Arkham Asylum.

**_"Exactly as I warned, The Batman has infected the minds of Gotham's youth."_ **

**_"Poisoned these so-called 'Sons of Batman' with an insidious excuse for the most violently anti-social behavior."_ **

**_"Batman? I'm tired of hearing about him. Why can't he just let things go, the way the rest of us do?"_ **

**_"We count too. A bunch of psychopaths turn on criminals, instead of the rest of us, and you wanna blame Batman?"_ **

**_"I say more power to them."_ **

**_"Do not expect any further statements."_ **

**_"The Sons of Batman do not make speeches, especially for Catwoman II, Bat-Mite, or that Voltage character. We act."_ **

"Batman...?" A resident asked as he heard the Dark Knight's name that caught his attention.

 ** _"Gotham City belongs to the Batman."_ **The TV said.

"Batman... Batman... Darling." The resident said before his face formed into a familiar-looking demented grin.

* * *

At the Gotham Bank, a young woman named Marianne Drews had just left and headed back to her apartment. Just as she got into the elevator, she got a phone call. "WHAT?!" she asked, before hearing something. "You mean... It's happening? YES!" She quickly raced into her apartment, and from inside assorted sounds could be heard.

* * *

Finally, Marianne exited her apartment, but her blonde hair was tied into pigtails with the tips dyed blue and pink; she was wearing a red and white tank top, red and blue short-shorts, fishnets, rollerblades, and her skin was pale as copy paper. In her hands, she clutched a mallet. "Look out, Mistah J, cuz here comes your brand-spankin'-new Harley Quinn!" she cackled.

There seemed to be a dramatic chord from that as this would be a pretty big story for another time. Will Batman and the others be able to help out with the new city and dangerous streets of Gotham? Who is this Marianne girl and what is she up to? Will Felicity be able to be trusted again? All of these questions and more next time on " _Cherry's Adventures_ "! Same Perky time, same Goth channel.

To Be Continued... After these messages, PART 2!

_**Peter Weller as Bruce Wayne/Batman** _

_**Ariel Winter as Carrie Kelley/Robin** _

_**Michael B. Jackson as Alfred Pennyworth** _

_**Paget Brewster as Lana Lang** _

_**Wade Williams as Harvey Dent/Two-Face** _

_**Maria Canals-Barrera as Ellen Yindel** _

_**Michael McKean as Dr. Bartholomew Wolper** _

_**Michael Emerson as The Joker** _

_**David Selby as James Gordon** _

_**Gary Anthony Williams as Mutant Leader** _

_**Courtland Mead as Lionel Schwartz, Jr./"LJ"** _

_**India Ennega as Zofia Schwartz** _

_**Andrea Libman as Felicity Molten-Schwartz** _

_**Brandon Mychal Smith as Lionel Schwartz/Bat-Mite** _

_**Omar B. Miller as Thornton 'Thor' Moltenscar-Schwartz/Voltage** _

_**Lena Headey as Cherry Butler-Schwartz-Moltenscar/Catwoman II** _

_**Kat Graham as Max Gibson/Batgirl II** _

_**Kaley Cuoco as Marriane Drews/Harley Quinn II** _

_**Melissa Joan Hart as Deidre and Delia Dennis/The Dee-Dees** _

_**Dove Cameron as Malissa "Mal" Ignus** _

_**Cameron Boyce (may he Rest In Peace) as Carlos de Vil** _

_**Booboo Stewart as Jay Scheherazade** _

_**Sofia Carson as Evelyn "Evie" Grimhilde** _

_**Sarah Jefferey as Audrey Rose** _


End file.
